Gun Gale Online: The Swordswoman
by A New Username
Summary: Kayaba Akihiko invented the 2D MMORPG, Sword Art Online, captivating millions of players in just a few short months. He proceeded to create the first device that could be used to immerse yourself into a complete virtual environment: the Nerve Gear. And finally, he created an all-new game, Gun Gale Online, as the first VRMMORPG. (Set where GGO is the death game, female Kirito)
1. Chapter 1: A World of Guns

Gun Gale Online: The Swordswoman

Chapter One: A World of Guns

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Yeah, it's been a while since I've posted an SAO story on this account, huh? For those of you who follow my other SAO story, I'll inform you now that I'm making slow progress on it. It's about a thousand words in at the moment.**

**A few things you should know before reading this story:**

**One: Kirito is actually a girl in this. Her name in this is Kimiko Kirigaya, and her avatar name is Kiriko. If you're curious as to why I made Kirito into Kiriko, then let me answer you with this: I just felt like it. There's no other real reason. Also, no other characters have been gender-swapped.**

**Two: this takes place in a world where SAO was nothing but a 2D MMO, ALO didn't exist, and GGO became the death game. I won't say anything more on the subject just yet.**

**Three: I have not read the GGO light novels. Anything that is actually accurate is coming from the wiki, and anything inaccurate is probably on purpose, as I've had to make up a lot of stuff due to having no access to the light novels.**

**Four: okay, this is the one that will most likely make or break your interest in this story. This is a YURI story, meaning girlxgirl, lesbian, femslash, whatever you want to call it. I won't tell you what the pairing is just yet, since I don't feel like spoiling such an important detail.**

**Well, if you're still reading this, then I thank you for your lack of prejudice. I guess that I've told you all you need to know.**

**See you in the bottom note!**

* * *

The sound of gunfire could be heard throughout the desert area. The moon in the clear night sky illuminated the firing of each and every bullet, making the battle raging around me seem like a light show. A very, very deadly light show.

Of course, as soon as each bullet left the barrel it was shot from, it became masked in the darkness of the night, making the battle even more deadly. Four walls that looked like they would crumble from a single grenade were the only things protecting me from the raging battle outside.

I looked down at my waist, focusing my eyes on my «FN Five-Seven» semi-automatic handgun resting at my right side. It still had all of its rounds in it, as I hadn't fired it since reloading it this morning. Still, if this kept up, I would likely end up emptying the entire magazine while trying to escape with my life.

I redirected my attention to the metal cylinder held at my left side by a belt loop. I eyed it intently, trying to think of a way to use what I had to get out of my current predicament.

_If I activate the blade of my «Photon Sword», the light would be a dead giveaway for my identity. Taking into account that I'm one of the most wanted people in the entire game, it would be suicide to use it,_ I thought, grimacing lightly. _Sure, they're not after me right now, but the fact remains that I have a bounty on my head. If anyone recognizes me, I'm dead._

I looked up to the sky, wondering just how I had gotten myself into this mess. But no, I didn't mean this battle. I meant the game itself. The game that trapped one-hundred-thousand players in it and left them to fend for themselves as they desperately tried to find a way out, lest they be killed by the monsters, or worst of all… other players.

«Gun Gale Online».

* * *

I sat in my computer chair, anxiously waiting for the digital clock on my nightstand to turn to 13:00. While I waited, I occupied my time with listening to _MMO Stream_ on my computer, as well as reading a newspaper article about a genius inventor who surpassed all others.

Kayaba Akihiko.

He invented the 2D MMORPG _Sword Art Online_, captivating millions of players in just a few short months. But he wasn't satisfied with that. No, not even close. He proceeded to create the first device that could be used to immerse yourself into a complete virtual environment: the Nerve Gear. But he didn't finish there. He created an all-new game, _Gun Gale__ Online_, as the first Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, or VRMMORPG for short. Ten thousand lucky people got selected as players to test the beta version of GGO, and they all loved it, even though most of the testers had no previous gaming experience.

_Though my beta invite wasn't out of sheer luck._

"Sister!" someone said from just outside my closed bedroom door. "I'm going to kendo practice! I'll see you when I get back, all right?"

_Don't count on it._

I thought about voicing my thoughts to her, my 'sister.' In the end, however, I opted to remain silent and wait for her to leave. After a few seconds, I heard the sound of footsteps leaving my doorway. Sighing loudly, I looked over to my clock.

_12:59_

I set the magazine I had been holding down on my computer desk, turning off the monitor and speakers for my computer before heading over to my bed. Sitting on my bed was a helmet-like structure, with a cord attached to the back.

The Nerve Gear.

I had already loaded the software used to log into Gun Gale Online into the Nerve Gear as soon as I woke up; it was a Saturday, so it's not like I had school to go to. Although, it would've been nice to have something to do other than sit in my room waiting until it was time to log on.

I took one last look around my room, somehow feeling like I wouldn't see it for a long time. Gray curtains covered my bedroom window, allowing only enough daylight through to allow me to see without having to turn on my bedroom light. I had been told on multiple occasions that I was similar to a bat in nature, always preferring to wear dark clothes and be in dark spaces.

Apart from my computer desk, computer chair, and bed, the room was absent of furniture. Littered about the floor were computer parts of all shapes and sizes, as I had been trying to build another computer before turning on _MMO Stream_.

All in all, my room looked nothing like the room of an average fourteen-year-old girl. Then again, I was far from average. Kimiko Kirigaya, a living legend in the world of computer technology. I created a computer out of spare parts at the tender age of seven years old. For a living, I made custom computers and laptops that I sold over the web. All of them performed better than all their brand name counterparts, and everyone who knew about my net persona knew it. And of course, that net persona shared its name with my beta avatar for Gun Gale.

Looking back to my Nerve Gear, I grabbed its cord, running my hand along it until I gripped the plug. I reached over to the outlet next to my bed, plugging the Nerve Gear's cord in. After laying down on my bed, I raised my head ever-so-slightly and slid the Nerve Gear on my head.

I turned my gaze to the corner of the helmet's visor, noting that the time had finally arrived. It was finally 13:00, and I could finally log into Gun Gale Online for the first time since the end of the beta, which happened several months prior. There was only one thing left to say.

"Link start!"

Suddenly, my vision turned white, startling me for the faintest of moments just as it always did. Lines of all colors streaked across my field of vision until they were all behind me. Then, circles with the English words for the five senses came up into my field of vision one by one, confirming that I could use them in the game. Once they were all finished confirming, they scrolled out of my sight, and a language bar appeared.

I confirmed the play language as Japanese, and a login screen appeared. I mentally entered my username and password, then watched as the character creation window popped up.

* * *

_Character Creation_

_Your beta test data is still available._

_Would you like to use it?_

_Kiriko (M)_

_Yes/No_

* * *

I tapped yes. Yeah, I play as a boy. It's stupid, but girls in GGO just aren't taken as seriously. Besides, my net persona had the same name, even though it was a girl's name. But I digress.

I mentally touched the yes button, and then then a gray screen appeared with the English words, "Welcome to Gun Gale Online!" in the middle. My vision moved past this screen, and pillars of orange and red light that formed a tunnel made their way past my field of vision. Then, the light turned into polygons that scattered, revealing the "sky" of this world.

I looked down, finding myself in the «Plaza» of the first city in the game, the «SBC Glocken». I clenched my hands into fists, watching the virtual muscles in my wrist tense. This was it; I was finally back.

"Hello, world…" I whispered, looking around at the new players appearing around me with a smile. "Did you miss me?"

It was then that I remembered that I had to purchase my favorite weapon. I could deal with the starting gun they gave me, simply dubbed as the «Hand Gun», as it was still semi-automatic. But if there was one thing to use all of my starting money on, it had to be one of the starting versions of my favorite weapon—

A «Photon Sword», that is. Apparently, Kayaba and the rest of the developers had put the weapon type in the game on a whim, trying to imitate a weapon used in some old American movie series. Well, whatever the reason, I loved to use «Photon Swords», and seemed to be the only person in the beta who could use them effectively.

I broke into a run, heading straight for the shopping district of the city. Only one shop sold the starter «Photon Swords», and only ten were kept in stock before they were sold out forever. I had to make haste if I was to be sure of getting one.

As I ran through the massive city, I eventually came to hear the sound of footsteps behind me. At first, I knocked it off to coincidence. When I had reached the weapon shop and _still_ heard the sound of footsteps behind me, I knew I was being followed.

"Whoever's there, you'd best come out," I said, turning around with an angry gaze.

"Got it," a fearful voice said, its owner coming out from behind a building to my left. "Sorry for following you. You were in the beta-test, right?"

I took in this man's avatar's appearance, cringing as I did so. He was about my height, with a muscular body structure that took muscular to unrealistic levels. His face looked well-chiseled, with a dark red mustache to accentuate his crimson mohawk.

After a few seconds, I finally found it in me to speak. "Y-yeah, but how did you know that?"

The man looked at me, a smile growing on his face. "Well, I heard you say, 'did you miss me?' back when you first got there. I figured it out from that, and then started following you so that I could see where you were going."

_Stalker…_ I thought, masking my discomfort with a smile. "Okay. Anything else you want?"

"I was hoping…" he started, looking at me pleadingly. "That you could teach me the basics! Like most of the one-hundred thousand people here, it's my first day. Do you think you could give me some pointers?"

"I dunno…" I said, averting my eyes from his begging look.

It was then that I found two big hands gripping my shoulders. It startled me, but I remained calm on the outside. He then kept up his begging routine. "Aw, come on, please! I'm beggin' ya!"

I looked back up to face him, hoping to decline his request. Big mistake. Even with his ugly appearance, his pleading look completely destroyed my defenses. I sighed. "All right, you win."

"Sweet!" he shouted, raising his fist into the air in a victory pose. He then looked back to me, a broad smile on his face. "My name's Klein, by the way."

"I'm Kiriko," I said, smiling back. Something about him just drew happiness out of me.

"Isn't that a girl's name?" he queried, making me realize my mistake.

_Crap! I should've given him a fake name!_

"Yeah, it is," I said, grimacing slightly as I looked away. I decided to lie, knowing that he would have no way of figuring me out. "My beta avatar was a girl, but I wanted to have a male avatar this time around. Sadly, I forgot to change the player name."

"Oh, okay!" Klein said, nodding and making his mohawk bob up and down. "Anyway, let's go!"

* * *

«Hunting Grounds»

After using all of my starting credits to buy the level one «Photon Sword», known as the «Beam Blade» we made our way to the «Hunting Grounds», a place just outside the city where we could hunt the low-level mobs to replenish our credits. Sadly, I had no idea that that Klein would be so pitiful at mob hunting.

"Agh!" Klein shouted, flying back onto his posterior before grasping his groin in what he thought was pain. But of course, GGO had pain absorbers, so feeling pain was really an impossibility. He was just overreacting.

His attacker was a level one wolf-type mob called the «Predator Eater», and it had the lowest HP of all mobs in the game. It also had the lowest attack and defense stats in the game, which only made it even sadder that Klein's HP bar had dipped into the yellow due to the pitiful mob.

"Dude, give it a rest. You can't feel pain," I said, putting my hand to my face. "But seriously, how can you not be able to hit that thing? It only takes one direct hit from your gun to kill it, and you can't even do that."

"Hey, screw you, man!" Klein said, giving me an angry look. "It keeps moving around, and my hands keep shaking! Seriously, that thing looks scary as hell!"

I took a look at the low-level mob, sighing in defeat. Its black fur, razor-sharp claws and fangs, and its large size made it look a little intimidating even to me, a player whose sense of fear had long since been eradicated by the excitement of battling mobs of all kinds every day.

"All right, I get it," I said, walking over to Klein with a resigned smile. "Let's teach you how to shoot a mob. Sadly, I forgot to make you buy an «Optical Gun», which would be better for mob hunting. I guess it doesn't matter right now, since it still only takes one shot from what we have to kill it."

I looked around, trying to find another «Predator Eater» close by. I saw one about eighty meters from where we stood, and I instantly decided to pick that as my example target. "All right, I'm going to show you how on that one over there," I said, pointing to it with my right hand.

"Okay," Klein said, looking over to the mob I had chosen. "Wait a second, that one is so far! There's no way you could hit it with the gun you have, especially if you're shooting left-handed!"

"Watch me," I said, pointing my «Hand Gun» towards the wolf-like mob with my left hand. I then proceeded to put my index finger on the trigger ever-so-lightly. A small circle appeared in my field of vision near the «Predator Eater», enlarging and shrinking erratically for the first couple of seconds. Soon after, it stabilized, the size fluctuations slowing down along with the beating of my heart.

"Remember, remaining calm is key to being an accurate shooter, especially when shooting from far away," I said, taking a deep breath. "As soon as your finger touches the trigger, you'll see a circle in your vision that shows where you're likely to hit. It gets bigger or smaller with your heartbeat, so the calmer you are, the slower it changes. That makes it easier to time your shot right and hit your target.

"Now, if you have it aimed right, then it's best to shoot when that circle is the smallest," I continued, narrowing my eyes slightly. "But if you're aim is bad, then try when it's the biggest, as it'll automatically hone in on your target if it's even partially in the circle.

I focused on the circle, making sure it was pointing directly at the wolf's head. With my accuracy, honed from hundreds of hours of playtime in the beta, it wasn't a matter of if I could hit it. No, it was when I pulled the trigger that was important. If I timed it right, I would only need a single shot to kill it. After a few seconds of concentrating on the circle's fluctuations, I waited until it got to its smallest point, and then…

_Bang!_

The sound of gunfire resounded throughout the area, swiftly followed by the sound of shattering glass. I had shot the «Predator Eater» from eighty yards away with the starting gun… and killed it. I had hit it right in the face, and the resulting explosion could be seen and heard even over where we stood, eighty meters away.

I released a breath I didn't even know I had been holding, turning around to see a shocked Klein. "And that, my good sir, is how you kill a wolf from eighty yards away with the starting gun."

Klein's face remained incredibly surprised for a good five seconds. Then, it instantly changed to an amazed expression. "Dude, that was freakin' amazing!"

"Don't get so excited just yet," I said smugly, pointing to the «Predator Eater» that he had faced earlier, which was only five meters away. "It's your turn now."

Klein donned a look of determination, turning towards the mob and pointing his gun at it. Unlike me, he held his gun in his right hand, I mused. He narrowed his eyes, putting his index finger on his gun's trigger. After a few more seconds, he pulled it.

_Bang!_

Right on target, the bullet fired from his «Hand Gun» hit the «Predator Eater» right in the forehead. The resulting explosion of red and orange polygons made me smile at his achievement. He turned to me, his face a mixture of shock and another emotion I couldn't place.

After a few seconds of silence, he smiled broadly, throwing both of his hands into the air in a victory pose. "Yeah!"

"Congrats on your first kill," I told him, holding out my right hand to him. He met it in a high-five before I continued. "You're a quick learner. But sadly, that was the weakest mob in the game."

Klein looked at me as if I had grown a second head, then shouted, "No way! I thought that that thing had to at _least_ be a mid-level mob for the first zone!"

I looked over to our left after hearing the sound of something spawning. Pointing towards the source, I showed Klein the spawning of two more «Predator Eaters». "Of course not," I said, looking back to him with an amused smile.

"Anyway, want to go hunt some more?" I queried. "You seem to have gotten the hang of shooting, so I think you'll be good to keep going."

He smiled. "Hell yeah!"

* * *

«Hunting Grounds Edge»

As we sat together (well, he sat while I stood), watching the sunset, I couldn't help but feel happy for Klein. The redheaded teen had actually leveled up, and his skills had improved drastically. He seemed even more excited than I was to be playing GGO, which is definitely saying something.

"No matter how much I look at all this, I still can't believe we're in a game," Klein said, eyes closed in serenity. "The guy who made this must be a freaking genius. It makes me so glad I was born in this time."

"You make such a big deal out of everything," I chided, smiling despite my words.

At this, his eyes snapped open wide, and he looked at me with mock anger. "I can't help it! It's my first «Full Dive»!"

"So this is the first time you've ever used the «Nerve Gear», then?" I inquired, looking at him with slightly widened eyes.

"Well, it's more like I rushed out at the last minute to buy everything I needed to play GGO," he replied, giving a sheepish smile. "Even though there were one-hundred-thousand first edition copies, I was really lucky to get one of them. The shop my friends and I went to was almost out of stock by the time we got our copies.

"But hey, you got into the beta test!" he said, looking at me with mock envy. "Which means that you, sir, are ten times as lucky. Only ten-thousand people got that chance."

I averted my eyes, my face slightly red with embarrassment. "Well, I guess so."

"How far did you and the other testers make it, anyway?" Klein asked me.

"Well, the rest of the top players and I all made it just past the tenth «Checkpoint» in the two months of testing," I said, causing Klein to look at me in shock. "But this time, I'm sure I can make it in one."

"Man, you're really into this," Klein said, smiling broadly. "Not to mention one of the top beta players!"

"Truth be told, during the beta test, GGO was all I thought about," I said, smiling softly as I looked at my gun. "Day and night. In this world, you can get anywhere with nothing but a gun and some ammo. Of course, having a «Photon Sword» helps, too."

I unhooked my «Beam Blade» from its loop on my belt, activating it and watching as a white laser with a blue outline came out, stopping at about three fourths of a meter in length. I swung it around a bit, marveling at the sound it made as it tore through the air.

"So, do you want to go hunt some more?" I queried, deactivating my blade and hooking it back onto my belt. "I can show you what it's like to kill things up close with my «Beam Blade».

"Of course!" Klein shouted, a jubilant expression on his face. However, this expression soon turned apologetic. "I mean, I'd love to, but…"

A loud growling sound could be heard coming from his stomach. I laughed incredibly hard, wiping a tear from my eye before saying, "Say no more; your stomach told me all I need to know."

Klein laughed sheepishly. He then put on a confident expression. "But never fear! I ordered a pizza for five-thirty!"

_Which means he'll be logging out soon…_

I masked my sadness with a smile. "You're certainly well-prepared."

"Totally!" Klein replied, giving me a thumbs-up. His expression changed yet again, this time to something I couldn't place. "Hey, I'll log back in right after I eat. You think we could get together after that? I can introduce you to my friends I know from another MMO game."

I looked away from his gaze, regret crossing my features. _I can't… being social just isn't something I'm able to do well,_ I thought, my expression grim.

"It's okay if you don't want to," Klein quickly said, trying to remedy the suddenly-awkward atmosphere. "You do give off that 'solo player' vibe, now that I think about it."

"Yeah," I said, turning to look at him with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, and thanks."

"No way! I should be doing the thanking, here," Klein shouted, walking over to me. He put his hands on my shoulders, looking me dead in the eyes with a sincere expression. "Seriously, thanks so much for helping me learn the basics. Why don't we meet up in a couple days, just the two of us? Have some bro time?"

I mentally laughed at this, remembering that he thought I was a guy. On the outside, I merely smiled, finding myself giving a response on autopilot. "Sounds good, man."

He backed away, offering his hand. I took it, and we shook. "Sweet!" he replied, letting go of my hand to open his menu. "I'll see you in a couple days, then."

"Message me if you have any questions before then," I replied, getting an enthusiastic nod in response.

"You got it," he said, walking a few meters away before opening his menu.

Just as I turned to leave, I heard him say something else. Something that made my blood run cold.

"Hey, Kiriko? Total newb question, but how do I log out? I don't see the button."

"There's a logout button at the bottom of your main menu," I said, trying to mask my nervousness.

_He can't mean…_

"Yeah, but that button's blank."

At this, my blood turned to ice in my veins. I quickly waved my right hand down, opening my menu and scrolling down to the bottom of my main menu. Like Klein said, the button at the very bottom – the logout button – was completely blank.

"You're right…" I whispered, looking at the ground with wide eyes. I could sense it.

Something was wrong.

Klein, on the other hand, didn't seem to get the severity of the situation. "Well, it's the game's first day out of the beta," he said, looking at me with a matter-of-fact expression. "There are bound to be some bugs. The server people are probably freaking out trying to get the bug fixed as we speak!"

"You'll freak out in five minutes, too," I informed him. "It's five-twenty-five right now. Wasn't your pizza suppose to get to your place at five-thirty?"

Klein's face donned a look of pure horror. "My teriyaki and mayo pizza and ginger ale!"

"Calm yourself, man," I said, I said, sighing at his dramatic flare. "Just give the GM a call."

"I did that already," Klein replied, finally calming down. "But there's no response."

"Well, I guess the GM is probably being flooded with calls right now…" I muttered, looking at the ground to my left.

"Hey, is there any other way to log out?" Klein asked me, looking at me with a hint of desperation in his eyes.

"No…" I responded in a slightly scared tone. "If a player wants to log out, they have to go through the main menu. There wasn't an emergency logout in the manual, either."

"I guess I have to pull the «Nerve Gear» out, then," Klein said. Before he could even attempt his stupid plan, I cut him off.

"Don't bother," I told him, halting him in his tracks. "The «Nerve Gear» intercepts every signal your brain sends to your body before it can get there."

"So… we're stuck until they fix the bug?" Klein asked me, looking just as frightened as I felt.

"Or until someone in the real world removes the «Nerve Gear» from our heads," I added, looking around nervously.

Klein's eyes widened slightly. "But I live alone… what about you?"

"I live with my mom and sister," I informed him, looking aside. "So I think they'll notice by dinnertime…"

In an instant, I found a pair of hands grasping my shoulders. I let out a startled squeak, much to my embarrassment. Klein either didn't notice or didn't care, for he immediately went on to say, "You have a sister? H-how old is she?"

"Dude, back off," I told him, a stern expression on my face. He obeyed immediately. "She's in a sports club, she hates games, and she hates lazy gamers even more."

"R-right… you're the overprotective type, aren't you?" Klein said, a smug look on his face.

I gave him a glare, quieting him down instantly. Then, I remembered what we had been talking about before. "But anyway, don't you think this whole situation is weird?"

"Of course," Klein replied dismissively. "It's a bug, what else would it be?"

"No, it's not just a bug," I corrected him. "The inability to log out would cause serious problems for the future of the game. And on top of that, there's an easy temporary fix that they haven't tried yet."

"What's that?" Klein queried, giving me a curious look.

"They could just shut down the servers," I said, my face darkening. "That would force-logout everyone who's logged in right now. The fact that there isn't even an announcement means that something's wrong."

"Then what do you think hap—" Klein started, though he was almost immediately cut off by a sinister sound emanating from the direction of the «SBC Glocken»…

_A warning tone? What's going on?_

Just after I finished my thought, a blue light began to engulf me and Klein. After a few seconds, the light was all I could see. When the light subsided, I found myself in the middle of the first city's «Plaza» once more.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**So, if anyone is still reading this, then please tell me what you think! Love it or hate it, as long as you don't outright flame, then I'm fine with any review.**

**I don't really have much to say here that hasn't been said in the top note. I guess all that's left is the disclaimer.**

**I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series, any of its adaptations, or anything I use from them. I make no money whatsoever from this story.**

**Ciao!**


	2. Chapter 2: I'm going to Live!

Gun Gale Online: The Swordswoman

Chapter Two: I'm going to Live!

* * *

**Author's Note**

**I know I took a while to update. I was working on other projects that don't belong on this account, so I didn't have much time to work on this. Hell, most of the time I've spent working on this one has been in the past two days.**

**Anyway, for those of you who are here specifically for yuri, let me inform you of the obvious: there will be no yuri in this chapter. This chapter is the equivalent of the tutorial for SAO, but with GGO as the game, of course.**

**Well, I guess that's about it. Without further ado, enjoy chapter two!**

* * *

_"No, it's not just a bug," I corrected him. "The inability to log out would cause serious problems for the future of the game. And on top of that, there's an easy temporary fix that they haven't tried yet."_

_"What's that?" Klein queried, giving me a curious look._

_"They could just shut down the servers," I said, my face darkening. "That would force-logout everyone who's logged in right now. The fact that there isn't even an announcement means that something's wrong."_

_"Then what do you think hap—" Klein started, though he was almost immediately cut off by a sinister sound emanating from the direction of the «SBC Glocken»…_

_A warning tone? What's going on?_

_Just after I finished my thought, a blue light began to engulf me and Klein. After a few seconds, the light was all I could see. When the light subsided, I found myself in the middle of the first city's «Plaza» once more._

* * *

"A forced teleport?" I queried rhetorically, looking around to find that many other players were arriving the same way I did.

Despite what I had thought, the «Plaza» was indeed big enough to hold all one-hundred-thousand players. However, even if the players could all fit, it was exceedingly crowded. All around me, there were countless players as far as the eye could see. When I looked to my right, I found Klein, looking just as confused as I did.

We walked over to each other, trying to stay close so that we didn't get separated. After a few seconds, I heard someone to my right say something that piqued my curiosity.

"Hey, what's that up there?"

I looked over to him, then followed the direction he pointed in all the way up to a red hexagon, barely visible in the dim lighting of the sunset. I squinted to get a better view, noticing a single word inside the hexagon.

«WARNING»

As soon as I finished reading it, another red hexagon appeared above it. This one was harder to read, for the letters on it were smaller. I squinted harder, trying my best to discern what it said.

«System Announcement»

_What's going on…?_ I thought, looking around as if the answer would suddenly present itself to me if I kept looking. Of course, it didn't.

Instead, more hexagons presented themselves. They spread across the sky with incredible speed, not stopping until the entire horizon was blocked by the red shapes. Just when I thought it couldn't get any weirder, a black, oily liquid started seeping through the borders of the hexagons.

_What the…?_

The black liquid started to pulsate with violet lightning, forming into a humanoid shape. After it had taken a humanoid form, the liquid began to shape up into a black, demon-like creature. Scaly black skin, silver claws on its hands and feet, and gleaming white fangs that protruded from its mouth. It had no eyes, only sockets with black smoke emanating from them.

_This is freaky…_

"What's that?" I heard Klein query from beside me, as if someone would actually know.

I heard a lot of people around me voicing the same question as Klein, though I didn't turn to look at any of them. It wasn't long, however, before everyone's questions were answered.

"_Attention, players,"_ the giant demonic creature said, its deep voice booming around the entire «Plaza». _"I welcome you to my world."_

"My… world?" I whispered, mind racing to figure out what this strange question meant. I could only come to one conclusion.

_He must be—_

"_My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of right now, I am the sole person in control of this world."_

_I was right,_ I thought, though I didn't smirk in satisfaction like I usually would. Something was wrong, I could sense it.

"_I trust that some of you have already noticed a certain button missing from the main menu,"_ Kayaba said, raising his clawed left hand and opening his own menu. _"The log out button, to be precise._

"_However, I can assure you that this is not a glitch or malfunction,"_ he continued, his voice sounding almost smug. _"This is a feature… of «Gun Gale Online»."_

I grit my teeth, already knowing that there was no way he could be lying. He had never lied to the media, even when it would have benefitted him to not tell the truth.

"_I repeat,"_ Kayaba said, moving his hand in what I knew was the motion to bring up the main menu and scroll to the logout button. _"This is not a defect. This is a feature of «Gun Gale Online»._

"_You cannot log out of GGO on your own, and no one in the real world will be able to shut down on remove the «Nerve Gear». Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the «Nerve Gear» will emit a powerful microwave radiation, destroying your brain…_

"_And ending your life."_

My mouth hung open at those words, and I watched as everyone around me started saying things akin to, "He must be joking," or, "Stop yanking my chain."

Then, I heard a shout that pierced above all the rest of them. What the voice said was truly horrifying.

"Hey! I can't leave!"

Klein didn't seem to hear the shout, and so I heard him say, "This guy's nuts! There's no way all of this can be true. Right, Kiriko?"

I turned to look at him, a conflicted look on my face. I wanted to agree with him, to say that there was no way that any of this wasn't just a bunch of crap, but… for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I genuinely believed everything Kayaba had said up until that point.

"It's true that the «Nerve Gear's» transmitters emit signals just like those in a microwave oven," I told him, looking away. "If the safety limiter were disabled, it could fry our brains… just like he said."

"Why don't we just cut the power, then?" Klein asked me, the smallest hint of hope in his voice.

_What are you, stupid?_ Was what I wanted to ask him. Instead, I settled for explaining exactly why his plan wouldn't work. "No, that wouldn't work. The «Nerve Gear» has an internal battery, remember?"

"But… what the hell? Why would he do this?" Klein queried, looking up at the demon claiming to be Kayaba Akihiko.

"_Unfortunately, the friends and family members of several players have ignored this warning,"_ Kayaba said, finally closing his menu. _"And have attempted to remove the «Nerve Gear». And as a result, two-thousand, three-hundred and thirteen players have perished, both from this world, and the real world._

"No way… that's insane!" I shouted, finally losing my composure.

"I don't believe it…" Klein said from beside me, closing his eyes tightly in rage. "I _can't_ believe it!"

After waving his hands a bit, the demon known as Kayaba Akihiko opened up several windows showing news networks. They floated around him, though they were pointed in our direction. _"As you can see, news organizations around the world are reporting this incident and the deaths caused because of it. Thus, you can assume that the danger off your «Nerve Gears» being removed is minimal at best. I hope this will give you some semblance or relaxation as you work to clear the game._

"_However, do take note of this,"_ Kayaba said, his tone darkening ever-so-slightly. _"There is no longer any means of revival in the game. Once your HP reaches zero, your avatar will be permanently deleted from the system, and simultaneously…_

"_The «Nerve Gear» will destroy your brain."_

Countless scenarios where I died in the beta played before me as I stood there, shocked to the core. However, I did not feel fear. No, there was only room for one emotion in my head at that moment.

Rage.

I clenched my fists tightly, trying to hold back a string of curse words. _Kayaba, you bastard!_ I thought, glaring at him with all my might, even though I knew he had no idea I was doing it.

"_You need only fulfill one condition to free yourselves,"_ he said matter-of-factly, as if this were nothing more than a simple conversation. _"You must clear the game."_

"Clear the game…?" Klein whispered, though I could hear him clear as day. My rage had sharpened my senses, even though I knew it wouldn't do any good at the moment.

"_You are currently in zone one, the first area of «Gun Gale Online». Make your way to the first «Checkpoint» and defeat the boss monster that looms there, and you advance to the next zone. If you keep going until you defeat the final boss on the fiftieth «Checkpoint», you will clear the game."_

"Clear the game?!" I shouted, glowering at the demon claiming to be the game's creator. "That's impossible! The level curve between each floor is insane! There's no freaking _way_ we could do that!"

I knew he couldn't hear me, but I didn't care. I continued shouting up at him, letting loose all of the things I knew had to be said, as well as some things that didn't. After a while, I stopped shouting, my voice hoarse.

It almost seemed as if Kayaba had been listening to me, for as soon as I stopped, he continued talking. _"And finally, there is a present from me in your item storage that may help you. Please see for yourselves."_

_There's no way he's telling the truth here, but… he's never lied before… and if he's telling the truth, then it might be something I'll need._

Against my better judgment, I fount myself opening up my menu, going into my item storage. Other than my equipment and materials I had found hunting with Klein, I found a single item.

_A «Hand Mirror»?_

Perplexed, I hit the «Make into Object» button, and a small, rectangular mirror about the size of my face materialized into my hands. Immediately after, I heard a shout of surprise come from my right.

"Klein?!" I shouted, looking over at him. When I saw his avatar covered in a bright blue light, I immediately thought he was being teleported somewhere again. After a few seconds, however, I realized that this was not the case, as he hadn't disappeared at all.

I looked to his «Hand Mirror», knowing that it must have been the cause of the strange light emanating from his avatar. Then, in an instant, I remembered that I, too, had a copy of the «Hand Mirror» in my hands.

Looking back to my own mirror, I immediately became enshrouded in the same blue light that had entrapped Klein. When I shouted in surprise, I instantly realized that my voice was much higher than that of my avatar.

_What the—_

Just like that, the blue light subsided. I looked around for Klein, not finding him anywhere in sight. In fact, I didn't see any of the players that were originally all around me. Then, just when I was beginning to think that I had been teleported to a different location, I heard a familiar voice coming from my right.

"Are you okay, Kiriko?"

"Klein?" I queried, looking to my right. "Where are you?"

_Wait a second…_ I thought, putting my hand to my mouth. _Why do I sound like a girl again? Wait, don't tell me—_

Looking back over to where I heard Klein's voice, I found a man at least a head taller than me, with short, crimson hair kept out of his face by an even darker red headband. The headband had two yellow stripes on it, and was tied into a knot at the back of his head. Directly below the headband was a set of two small, chocolate brown eyes. Completing the 'young adult' look were the makings of a beard on his chin. All in all, he looked much less repulsive than the Klein I knew, though he still didn't look like a dashing prince, either.

"You're… Klein, right?" I queried, looking at this man with wide eyes. I quickly noticed that my voice sounded eerily like my real-world voice.

_What's going on…? Wait, if I sound like I do in the real world, then—_

"Y-yeah… but who are—" he replied, matching my expression with an equally shocked one. "Wait a second… are you Kiriko?!"

I quickly looked down to my «Hand Mirror», a stray lock of long, lustrous black hair falling down into my field of vision. I brushed it aside, and what I saw in the mirror completely horrified me.

Long, ebony hair framed my feminine face, which currently sported a look of utter shock. A pair of stormy gray eyes stared right back at me, as if asking me exactly what I was asking the mirror:

_Why do I look like me?!_

I looked down at my body, noting that my curvy frame from the real world was now on full display. My… medium-sized chest, my thin abdomen, my long, slender legs… everything was on full display. And because my old avatar's clothes were that of a male, even my outfit had changed, turning into a much more revealing one.

My outfit had become much more suited to my real-world appearance, though it had the same dark gray colors. A long-sleeved, dark gray shirt with diamond-shaped openings over my shoulders. It came down to just above my waistline, where it showed the slightest bit of skin. My pants had changed to a lighter gray miniskirt, making me feel very self-conscious. My boots hadn't changed save for being slightly elevated in the back.

Luckily, I still had my belt on my waist, on which my «Beam Blade» was clipped. I had also retained my harness, which had my «Hand Gun» holstered in it, as well as a few extra magazines.

I finally looked back to Klein, nodding my head. His eyes widened more than I thought possible, and he shouted, "But I thought you were a guy!"

"Does it really matter if I'm a guy or a girl?" I queried, looking at him pointedly.

Klein, obviously getting scared of where this conversation was leading, chose to change the subject. "So, how did it get our real appearances?"

"For the face, it probably used the high-density sensor in the «Nerve Gear»," I said, still getting used to having my real-world voice in GGO. "That would give it a pretty clear picture of our real faces."

"What about our height and body type?" Klein queried, looking at me as if I had the answer to everything.

"Remember when we first used the «Nerve Gear»?" I answered his question with one of my own. "We had to calibrate it, right? We had to touch our bodies all over, which would give data for our height and body type based on how we touched ourselves."

"But… what's the point?" Klein asked me, as if he actually thought I knew. "Why is he doing this?"

I pointed to the red sky, looking up at the coal-black demon who floated in it. "I'm sure he'll tell us soon enough."

Just after I said those words, they were proven to be true by the demon, who finally resumed speaking. _"I'm sure you're all wondering why. Why would Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of «Gun Gale Online» and the «Nerve Gear», do all this?_

"_My goal has already been achieved. I wanted to create a world that I could observe and intervene in…_

"_As its God."_

I grit my teeth, desperately trying to hold back a fierce string of curse words. In the end, I managed to hold back everything but a hate-filled, "Kayaba…"

"_That is why I created «Gun Gale Online»,"_ he said, and I could almost feel a smile at his virtual lips, though his demonic avatar did not show it. _"And now… it has all been fulfilled._

"_This ends the tutorial for the official «Gun Gale Online» launch,"_ Kayaba said, his avatar beginning to flicker. The demonic thing began to turn into pitch-black smoke, which began floating up into the red sky. Just before it fully integrated with the horizon, we all heard one, final parting message.

"_Players… I wish you all the best of luck."_

And just like that, all of the hexagons in the sky vanished at once. Silence reigned the entire «Plaza», everyone too shocked to speak or even move.

I remembered earlier that day, when I made myself a meal. I had cut my finger with a knife accidentally, and now, I began imagining the blood that had flowed from my hand when I did. When I looked back at my hand, I saw nothing, no wounds. Even so…

_This is reality…_ I thought, clenching my fist in anger. My mind began racing. _Kayaba Akihiko, the genius who created the «Nerve Gear» and a complete virtual environment. I looked up to him, and even met him once because he recognized my net persona's skill. So I know… that everything he said was the truth._

_If I die in the game…_ I looked up, a determined expression on my face. _I die in real life!_

For a few more seconds, all was silent. But alas, it wasn't meant to stay that way. Chaos erupted throughout the «Plaza», with people screaming and shouting at the sunset, demanding that they be set free. I almost felt bad for them, but I knew I didn't have the time to be sympathetic. I had to leave.

I had to survive.

I looked over to Klein, who looked to still be in shock. Taking his arm in my left hand, I whispered, "Come with me, Klein."

Taking advantage of the confusion, I ran through the streets of the city with Klein in tow. He didn't resist, and before long, we were in an alleyway near the edge of the city. I turned around, looking at Klein intently as I let go of his hand.

"Listen," I said commandingly. "I'm heading to the next city. Come with me."

I decided to elaborate, opening my menu to pull up a map. "If what he said is true, and I think it is, then we've gotta become as strong as possible in order to survive in this world. The resources within a VRMMORPG, the money, EXP and items we can earn, are limited.

"The fields surrounding the «SBC Glocken» are going to be hunted clean soon, and I don't want to be caught in that chaos. To be efficient, we need to head for the next city and set up camp there.

"I know all of the safe and dangerous areas, so we can get there safely even at our low levels," I finished, closing out of my menu and looking up to Klein. The look on his face said it all…

He couldn't go with me.

I thought back to what he said earlier, right before he tried to log out.

"_I can introduce you to my friends I know from another MMO game."_

"You know…" Klein said, regret etched into his features. I put a hand up, stopping him in his tracks.

"Say no more, Klein," I told him, a sad smile on my face as I averted my eyes to the cold pavement below us. "You have to go help your friends, I get it."

"Yeah…" Klein said softly. "Wait, they must still be in the «Plaza»! I've got to help them…"

I closed my eyes tightly, mind racing to think about something, anything I could do to help him. _But… if I take them all and one of them dies, they'll undoubtedly blame me… what do I do… what do I do?!_

"Sorry."

I looked up at Klein, eyes wide as I desperately tried to figure out why he apologized. When I came up with no possible reason, he spoke again.

"I really shouldn't ask you for anything more," Klein elaborated, giving me a smile and a thumbs-up. "So don't worry about me. Get your ass to the next village. I used to run a guild in the last 2D MMO I played. My friends and I will get by just fine with what you've taught me."

I turned around, wanting to hide the tears that I knew would come. "All right, we'll part here," I said, just barely keeping my voice calm. "Send me a message if something happens."

"Will do," Klein replied.

"Then… take care," I whispered. "I'll be seeing you, Klein."

I began walking further down the dark alley, head hanging. After a second or two, Klein called my name, forcing me to turn around just enough to see him out of the corner of my eye.

"Kiriko…" Klein said softly, looking like he was struggling for words. At last, with a light dusting of pink on his cheeks, he began to speak again. "You're actually really hot as a girl! Totally my type!"

Normally, I would have taken offense to his relatively rude comment, but I knew he was just trying to lighten the mood. And so, I turned back to him, shouting right back, "And that unkempt hair of yours suits you ten times better than your old avatar's stupid mohawk!"

I turned back around, running a little ways down the alley in a much more girly fashion than I would've liked. After I reached the corner, I looked back, finding…

An empty alley. Klein was gone… and I didn't know if I would ever see him again.

The tears that had been fighting my eyes finally escaped as I quickly began to run towards the edge of the city. I ran past the city, into the desert fields, not slowing until I saw an entire group of five mid-level wolf mobs known as «Predator Destroyers» blocking my way. Even then, I didn't stop, only slowing down long enough to draw my gun and unhook my «Beam Blade».

_I've got this!_

I shouted in my mind, taking the first shot on one of the «Predator Destroyers». I hit it square in the head, causing it to shatter into hundreds of polygons. I repeated the action on two more of the mobs, shattering them just as easily.

Immediately after, the last two «Predator Destroyers» came running at me, determined to avenge their brethren. I quickly activated the blade of my «Beam Blade», holding it over my shoulder in preparation for a downward strike.

_I can do this!_

"HAAAAH!"

With a mighty shout, I swung my «Beam Blade» down onto the head of the first «Predator Destroyer». It cut clean through, as it always did. I then stabbed it in the head, proceeding to tear sideways in a spin attack that also cut through the second «Predator Destroyer».

The first shattered into hundreds of polygons, its HP having just run out. The second, however, still had just over two thirds of its HP. After my spin attack finished, the wolf-like mob slashed at me with its claw. With lightning-fast reaction speed, I slashed diagonally, cutting its claw clean off before it could hit me.

_This world can't beat me!_

With my «Beam Blade» up in the air, I had put myself in the perfect position to slash down on the mob's head. I jumped to avoid a claw strike from its other leg, spinning vertically as I down the middle of its back with my «Beam Blade». The force of my strike sent me past the beast, and I kept running as soon as I heard the mob explode into polygons, just like all the others.

_I will survive!_

"HAAAAAH!"

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Yeah, I know it ended very predictably. Still, there's not much I could have done to change the tutorial, so…**

**Well, I don't have much to say, to be frank. I guess I'll inform you that the next chapter will be back in the present, since this was obviously a flashback to the beginning. Remember the first part of the first chapter? Next chapter will be about what happens after that.**

**Anyway, I think that's it. I don't want to spoil too much, so I'll shut up and disclaim the chapter.**

**Sword Art Online is property of Reki Kawahara, and I would never even dream of taking the property rights from him. I would completely butcher it if I did… not to mention that I don't have the power to do that in the first place.**

**Man, that was a damn long disclaimer.**

**See you later!**


	3. Intermission: The Current Situation

Gun Gale Online: The Swordswoman

Intermission Chapter: The Current Situation

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Yup, I just did this. I posted a second chapter in the same day. To be fair, though, this isn't what I had planned for it to be. If you couldn't tell by the chapter title, this is meant to be a sort of intermission chapter, one to set up the story's background.**

**Anyway, I think I'll let you off here. Enjoy!**

* * *

_With a mighty shout, I swung my «Beam Blade» down onto the head of the first «Predator Destroyer». It cut clean through, as it always did. I then stabbed it in the head, proceeding to tear sideways in a spin attack that also cut through the second «Predator Destroyer»._

_The first shattered into hundreds of polygons, its HP having just run out. The second, however, still had just over two thirds of its HP. After my spin attack finished, the wolf-like mob slashed at me with its claw. With lightning-fast reaction speed, I slashed diagonally, cutting its claw clean off before it could hit me._

This world can't beat me!

_With my «Beam Blade» up in the air, I had put myself in the perfect position to slash down on the mob's head. I jumped to avoid a claw strike from its other leg, spinning vertically as I down the middle of its back with my «Beam Blade». The force of my strike sent me past the beast, and I kept running as soon as I heard the mob explode into polygons, just like all the others._

I will survive!

_"HAAAAAH!"_

* * *

About a month into the game, and thirty-thousand or so players had died. There were various causes, from the monsters, to suicide, to the most frightening – and common – cause… other players, that is.

These players, commonly known as PKers (short for player killers), had discovered that killing a single player would bring you more Credits than over five monster-hunting sessions. Monsters didn't shell out much money upon their death, but all of the Credits of a player, along with all of their equipment they currently had equipped, would go to their killer. And with the high damage that physical guns had, it was quite easy to accomplish such a feat.

In the beginning, PKers were the most common type of players. They earned easy money by killing, as well as a lot of equipment that they could sell for even more money. For the first couple of months, if you saw a player with top-tier equipment, it was safe to assume that that person was a PKer.

Where was I? Oh, right.

There are four categories of players.

The first, consisting of a little over half of the remaining sixty-eight-thousand players, were the ones who wouldn't – no, they simply _couldn't_ – accept the conditions that Kayaba Akihiko had given them. They waited in the «SBC Glocken» day after day, hoping against hope that outside help would finally come.

I understood the feeling painfully well. Everyone's real bodies were lying in hospital beds by this point, slowly wasting away. Those bodies were the "real" bodies, and the bodies they moved around in GGO were "fake." That was what they believed.

If there was even the smallest discovery, they thought they might be able to get out. Of course, the obvious solution, the logout button, was gone, but there might have been something that the creators of the game overlooked, something that could be exploited to get out.

And outside, the company that ran the game, Argus, would be trying harder than anyone to save the remaining sixty-eight-thousand players. If they could just wait this nightmare out, they might be able to open their real eyes, have a teary reunion with their loved ones, and return to school or work. Then, everything that happened would have just been like a war story, a tale to tell to the future generations. That was the belief that this group desperately clung to, like a child to their blanket.

But I wasn't so naïve as to think like that. Not anymore, not when the cold reality of death stared me in the face every day.

Their plan of action was simply to wait. They used the Credits they were allotted at the beginning of the game sparingly, only buying what they needed to survive. Thankfully, the «SBC Glocken» was large enough to easily house the thirty-five-thousand players with ease, so everyone who fit into this category would have sufficient room to live in, should they have the money to purchase each night at an inn. And luckily, there were many jobs to be taken up in the city, so anyone willing to work for an NPC would be able to make enough to live comfortably.

But, no matter how long they waited, no help would come. I knew that painfully well, and yet even I refused to accept that there were no flaws to be exploited. This world wasn't perfect, and I knew that eventually, with my hacking skills, I would find some kind of system exploit. Maybe not one to log out, but I would find one to gain an edge.

Back to the main point.

The second category consisted of about thirty percent of the remaining players, or about twenty-thousand. This group was full of players who all worked together under one leader. He was an ex-admin of one of the world's largest gaming info sites, so many players thought of him as a god of sorts, despite so few people having actually seen him fight.

This category of players freely shared all of their gains, collected info on the game and set out on expeditions to find the location of each «Checkpoint» and explore the labyrinths surrounding them. They set up their base of operations in the «SBC Glocken», where they send orders to their subdivisions.

This group didn't have a name for quite some time, but after each member was issued a uniform based on their rank, they were given the rather grim name, «The Military».

The third category consisted of, at a rough estimate, around nine-thousand. These were the most feared – and usually the most powerful – players. I mentioned them before, but I'll elaborate. These players killed others to get the money and equipment they needed to survive. They were ruthless, most of them able to kill with no remorse whatsoever.

These are the PKers. They each have different reasons, different motives. Some didn't believe that killing in the game caused real death. Some were so desperate to survive that they stopped caring about any lives other than their own. But they all shared one thing, one common trait…

They were all murderers.

It didn't matter if they only killed one person, or if they took countless innocent lives. All of them were labeled as enemies of the regular players, with a permanently orange-turned cursor as their accursed mark. These players were hunted down as soon as they were discovered, and the ones who were caught were killed for their horrible deeds. In addition, a player who kills a another player with an orange cursor will receive no penalty. In other words, killing a criminal won't make you one.

The fourth category was, simply put, the rest. The nine-thousand players who didn't fit into the three major categories, yet still managed to be of importance.

There were around fifty or so groups created by people who wanted to clear the game, yet didn't want to join «The Military». They numbered around five-thousand. These groups, often called Legions, had a certain mobility and power that the «Military» lacked, despite the sheer difference in numbers. Using this, they slowly grew stronger, until almost all players on the front lines belonged to one Legion or another.

There were quite a few players who chose to avoid violence altogether, yet still make a difference. These three and a half thousand players were the shopkeepers and craftsmen. The shopkeepers bought and sold items and equipment to players for good (well, usually good) prices. The craftsmen made items and equipment from raw materials, and the items created were usually much better than anything that was sold in NPC shops. These players were vital to the Legions, as most of these groups get their equipment made by craftsmen, and much of the other provisions needed were provided by the merchants. Thus, even though they weren't fighting on the front lines, they could still be proud in their efforts to help clear the game in their own way.

The rest, numbering at about five-hundred players in total, were known as solo players. I belonged to this group, though sometimes I wish I didn't.

The solo players were a selfish group who decided that acting on their own would yield better results when strengthening themselves to survive in this world. If they had the right information and could use it correctly, they could level up much quicker than if they were in a party, since a monster defeated by a party will yield less EXP for each player. Thus, after a solo player gains the power to fight against PKers or groups of mobs on their own, there was really no merit to fighting in a party.

Of course, playing solo didn't come without risks. For example, if a PKer shot a «Paralysis Bullet» at you and it made contact, you wouldn't be able to move. If you were in a party, one of your fellow members could just use an «Antidote Injection» to cure you, and you could keep fighting. However, if you were playing solo, then the whole scenario changes. Your enemy would be able to walk right up to you and kill you as quickly and painlessly, or slowly and agonizingly, as possible. In the very beginning, the solo players had the highest fatality rate amongst everyone.

But, if you had the experience and knowledge to get through all of the danger, then there was much better compensation for the incredible risk. And of course, beta-testers like myself had both of those things.

With this precious information, the beta-testers and other competent solo players leveled up at an unparalleled pace, and a large gap soon opened between them and the rest of the population. Even the steep leveling curve between each «Checkpoint» couldn't stop these selfish players from rising to the top.

Inside the building that used to be the respawn point in the beta, a giant, black metal monument stood tall, with the names of all of the one-hundred-thousand players etched into its surface. When a player died, a line would cruelly strike through his or her name on the monument, and the time and cause of death would appear next to it. The first person to have their name crossed out died not even an hour into the game. The cause of death was not a monster attack, or even a PKer. No…

It was suicide. Her name was "Kotone," and her cause of death was a suicidal shot to the head.

A witness at the monument said that her name was crossed out only seconds after she was reported to have shot herself. Even now, I'm horrified at the thought that I would feel the pain of a shot to the head for even a few seconds before I died.

Her suicide was certainly not the last. Many people followed her example, and in the first few days, when the reality of the situation still hadn't quite sunk in, there was a drastic decrease in players, and a drastic increase in lines striking through the monument. However, after the first week, the rate of suicide nearly halted as the players began to realize that this situation was real.

Even without suicide being a big issue, there was still the fact that players lost their lives every day fighting monsters, or other players, for that matter. After all, GGO's fighting style isn't anything like that of the first-person shooter games that most people who played this death game were used to.

In GGO, your firing and movement speed could be increased by heightening your AGI stat, but at the same time, you needed accuracy and good reflexes to put them to use. Most of the people who played GGO weren't exactly physically fit, and so their reflexes were very slow at first. Generally, those same players also had problems firing accurately, since they weren't used to holding metal guns, which could be quite heavy. I, having practiced kendo up until the two months of the beta test, still had lightning-fast reflexes and good control of my movements. Thus, I had problems with neither accuracy, nor reflex speed. That's why I can afford to play solo.

I won't go into detail about the other stats, but I will say this: each one has problems and advantages that stem from the same thing – your real-life physical abilities.

Fighting monsters or players in GGO isn't like the fights in 2D games. No, fights in this death game are just that – deadly – and that's what makes them so damn frightening. You really do die if your HP runs out, and that possibility scares even me, a player who faces it every day.

Suicide, losing to monsters, being killed by players. The number of crossed-out names due to these circumstances multiplied at a terrifying pace, one that made clearing the game seem like an impossibility.

When these deaths reached thirty-thousand at a month into the game, the players were in utter despair. If the number of deaths kept multiplying so rapidly, then all one-hundred players would be gone before even four months had passed. At the time, clearing the fiftieth «Checkpoint» and escaping this vile death game seemed like a mere pipe dream.

But, as was probably anticipated by Kayaba himself… humans adapt.

A little over two weeks later, the first «Checkpoint» was found, the boss monster was slain, and the next zone was unlocked. After word got around that it was indeed possible to proceed, and maybe even clear the game some day, the rate of suicide started to drastically decrease. The ones who had cleared the «Checkpoint» started spreading vital information needed to survive, and then, the rate of monster-related deaths slowed just as quickly.

The dream that we might clear the game and return to the real world one day didn't seem like such a dream anymore. The number of players that had that mindset slowly but steadily increased. The final «Checkpoint» was still far away, but now, there was something new on the table…

Hope.

And now, almost a year later, with eighteen «Checkpoints» cleared, the number of surviving players is around fifty-thousand.

This is the way it is. This is the reality for all players trapped in this death game.

This is the current situation of «Gun Gale Online».

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Okay, so if you guys didn't notice, this was very similar to a certain part of the first volume of the SAO light novel. I wanted to set the tone the same way the novel did, though I still managed to give it a little bit of my own spin. I promise every one of you, though, that I will _not_ do anything like this anymore! No more novel-copying for me!**

**I'll just get to the disclaimer, I suppose.**

**It should be obvious that I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series or any of its adaptations by now. After all, Reki does a much better job than I do at writing SAO stories, as he's the original author anyway. So thank you, Reki-sama, for bringing us this wonderful series for people like me to write crappy fanfics about.**

**See you next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 3: Hiding in Plain Sight

Gun Gale Online: The Swordswoman

Chapter Three: Hiding in Plain Sight

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Yeah, I'm just pumping these things out! I can't even blame the speed of this chapter's production on any novel-copying! This came straight out of my head! I still can't believe I'm going this fast!**

**Ahem. You'll have to excuse me for getting so excited. This is the first chapter that was entirely crafted from my own imagination, with no outside assistance from the source material, so I'm a little nervous as to how it turned out. I'm pretty sure it won't be that good… but who knows? Maybe it'll have turned out all right.**

**Anyway, without further ado, enjoy!**

* * *

_When these deaths reached thirty-thousand at a month into the game, the players were in utter despair. If the number of deaths kept multiplying so rapidly, then all one-hundred players would be gone before even four months had passed. At the time, clearing the fiftieth «Checkpoint» and escaping this vile death game seemed like a mere pipe dream._

_But, as was probably anticipated by Kayaba himself… humans adapt._

_A little over two weeks later, the first «Checkpoint» was found, the boss monster was slain, and the next zone was unlocked. After word got around that it was indeed possible to proceed, and maybe even clear the game some day, the rate of suicide started to drastically decrease. The ones who had cleared the «Checkpoint» started spreading vital information needed to survive, and then, the rate of monster-related deaths slowed just as quickly._

_The dream that we might clear the game and return to the real world one day didn't seem like such a dream anymore. The number of players that had that mindset slowly but steadily increased. The final «Checkpoint» was still far away, but now, there was something new on the table…_

_Hope._

_And now, almost a year later, with eighteen «Checkpoints» cleared, the number of surviving players is around fifty-thousand._

_This is the way it is. This is the reality for all players trapped in this death game._

_This is the current situation of «Gun Gale Online»._

* * *

I sighed as I walked through the dark streets of the fifteenth «Checkpoint's» main settlement, sweating nervously despite the lack of eyes on me. I knew I shouldn't feel like this; it was only the old me that I saw on the wanted posters, not the new me. I had changed since the clearing of the tenth «Checkpoint», when the incident took place.

I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?

I had narrowly avoided being shot while caught in the middle of the gunfight between clearers and PKers, escaping by the skin of my teeth without being noticed. Now, I was back in the city of the fifteenth «Checkpoint», where I planned to go straight to my home base.

This was the first time in quite a while that I had gotten the chance to go back to my base of operations – namely, the home of Klein's Legion, the «Crimson Guns». After the incident, I had taken refuge at their base for a few days until I could change enough to go back outside without being hunted down. Eventually, it became my permanent base, though not with strings attached.

Of course, even with all of Klein's men, only he knew who I actually was – Kiriko, a living legend in the game who would forever live in infamy. Everyone else who knew me, including the rest of his men, knew me as…

"Hey, if it ain't Kazuto!" I heard a voice say from the other side of the door I stopped at. The door quickly opened, and I found myself being ushered in by one of Klein's first Legion members.

I had long gotten used to the warm welcomes whenever I came back, since none of them were on my friends list, and none of them could find my name on the «Monument of Life» to check if I was alive or not. Of course, they were looking for the wrong name, so it was really no surprise.

"Hey, boss!" another member who sat at the dinner table to the side, drinking what I could only assume was beer, shouted up at the stairs. "Kazuto's back!"

I heard some questionable sounds coming from the second floor, and a few seconds later, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching the stairs. And, as usual, I heard the telltale sign of a certain someone tripping at the top, followed the sight of said someone falling down the stairs.

By the time he arrived at the bottom in a crumpled heap, I had already walked over to him, offering a hand. He took it, and I pulled him to his feet. The man, now standing at about a head taller than me, put his hand to his red headband, looking at me with his usual goofy smile.

"So, how's the solo life treating you?" this man said, looking into my steel-gray eyes with his chocolate-brown ones. If one were to only look at his goofy smile, then his words might have seemed like nothing more than a playful greeting. However, to anyone who bothered to read his eyes, the true intent of what he said was startlingly obvious. His eyes said only one thing.

"_I'm worried about you."_

I looked back into his concerned eyes with my own set of confident ones. Beginning to speak in a lower voice so as to keep up my façade, I said, "Pretty well, if a bit tiring. I got some good drops, so let's go to my room and I'll discuss my rent payment."

Of course, there was no way they would just let me stay at their base for free, even if I was one of their boss's friends. Since I soloed very powerful monsters and groups of less powerful monsters every day on the front lines, I accumulated a lot of rare drops that I didn't need. Thus, my form of rent payment was to give them all those unneeded rare drops to his Legion every week.

"Got it," the headband-clad leader of the «Crimson Guns» said, walking towards the stairs he had just fallen down. He stopped at the bottom, waiting for me to follow. "After you."

I didn't hesitate to go ahead as he said, though I stopped in my tracks once I heard one of Klein's newer members whisper something that almost made me choke on my own tongue.

"Hey, don't they seem a little closer than regular friends?"

_Crap! Have they found me out?_ I thought frantically, looking back ever-so-slightly.

One of the older members, one who had supposedly been friends with Klein outside of the game, immediately responded before I could say anything. His response calmed me, and allowed me to continue walking.

"Yeah, but I know Klein from outside the game, and he's definitely not gay. Still, I get where you're coming from. They seem a lot closer because that kid is the first person Klein met in GGO."

After confirming that my secret hadn't been discovered, I continued my way up the stairs, turning the corner once I reached the top. I walked over to the room at the far end of the hall, opening it and waiting for Klein. As soon as he entered, I shut the door, locking it and opening my equipment menu.

I unequipped my silver plate armor, watching as it disappeared. Then, I unequipped my jacket, feeling a cool breeze start to caress my neck, reminding me to toss my hat onto my bed, which then allowed my long, ebony hair to flow freely for the first time in days. And finally, I went into the options for my under-armor slot, replacing my current choice, a rare drop called «Medical Wrappings», with a regular bra.

And just like that, I looked like a girl again. I heaved a contented sigh, glad to finally be able to be myself, if only for a little while. I didn't care that Klein was right in front of me, as I was still wearing my shirt, and I knew he wouldn't do anything. He just wasn't the type. He had even looked away while I unequipped everything, though he really didn't need to.

"I haven't felt this good in _days_," I said in my regular high-pitched voice, heaving another sigh as I sat on my bed. "It totally sucks that the girl me is on pretty much every wanted poster in every city so far… I barely get any time to be myself."

"What I don't get," Klein said, looking out the window with a contemplative expression. "Is why they want you dead or captured so badly. I mean, you were just doing what you had to do to survive, right?"

"Yeah, but they don't see it that way," I replied, looking around the small room sullenly. "The way they see it, I was so strong at the time that I completely destroyed all of the competition. There was no one who came close to my strength, and the fact that I fought them with such brutal tactics made them think of me as a serious threat. And with the twentieth «Checkpoint» coming up soon, history will repeat itself if they don't kill me first, or at least capture me and keep me from going to the boss raid.

"Which reminds me…" I said grimly, causing Klein to turn to me with a curious expression. "When the Twentieth «Checkpoint» boss fight comes up, I don't want you to be a part of the raid team. I'm going to make an appearance as my female self right before the fight, and I don't want to end up…

"Killing you."

Klein looked at me with wide eyes, and I could tell that his mind was racing from the possibility of having to fight me. I should probably explain a bit, shouldn't I?

A couple of months ago, right before the clearing of the tenth «Checkpoint», the morale of the players was as high as ever. After five grueling months of clearing, they would finally be a fifth of the way through clearing the game. Very few casualties had resulted from all of the boss fights so far, so everyone thought they would make it past the tenth «Checkpoint» with no problems. Well, everyone but the beta-testers.

From experience, we knew that the tenth «Checkpoint» boss was incredibly powerful in comparison to all of the previous bosses. There was no room for comparison; the gap in strength was just too wide. Sadly, when the beta-testers tried to inform the clearers of this, they didn't listen. By that point, the beta-testers had all been deemed not worthy of any trust. Most of them were in the PK groups anyway, so it wasn't exactly a stretch to call them untrustworthy.

At the time, I was one of the few known testers who had earned the respect and trust of the clearers. I was just about the only pretty female amongst the clearers at that point, and my power was unparalleled by any and all of the other players, yet I was still as gentle as could be when it came to interacting with other players.

But then, when the boss fight came along, everything changed. Out of forty-eight players who participated in the boss fight, exactly one fourth of them were completely wiped out by the boss. When it was finally defeated, the spirits of the players were crushed. But that wasn't the end of the traumatic event. No, not even close. The worst had yet to come, and it did as soon as the players entered the next zone.

This was an event that had not taken place in the beta, so even I had no idea that it would happen. But that didn't excuse the horrible acts I committed. The event I was talking about… it could only be described as a massacre.

It was a Battle-Royale-styled fight, where all of the surviving players from the boss fight had to fight each other until only one remained. The name of the event?

The «Bullet of Bullets».

In my defense, I had no choice. It was either kill or be killed, and the strongest player should be the one to survive, right? That's what I thought, and so I did what I had to. I killed exactly thirty-one other players, some of whom were my friends. Even now, the faces and voices of my comrades as I took their lives away continue to haunt me in my dreams. Even though I didn't gain an orange cursor from the event, I felt like my hands were stained with the blood of innocent people every time I looked at them.

After that traumatic event ended, I became one of the most hated players in the game. There was no saving me from the hate that the other players cast on me. And so, soon after the eleventh «Checkpoint» was cleared, I disappeared the only person who had me added as a friend was Klein, so only he knew where I was. He went looking for me, and by the time he found me, I was a completely different person.

I had changed my appearance to be that of a boy, putting a hat on to hide my long hair, using a rare under-armor drop I found to bind my chest so that it didn't show, and forgoing any lighter-colored feminine clothes in favor of much more masculine black clothes and silver armor. In short, my entire identity had changed.

Klein knew why I did it, and, being the good friend he was, he agreed to keep the whole ordeal a secret between us. He offered to let me stay at his Legion's base, and I accepted, on the condition that I give his Legion all of the drops I got while soloing that I didn't need.

I continued to grind on the front lines in secret, being sure to keep the level gap between the regular clearers and I as wide as possible in case of someone finding out my secret. If I was found out, I would most likely be attacked, and I needed to be sure that I was strong enough to fend off any amount of players, no matter how strong.

After the next two «Checkpoints» were cleared, putting us in the fourteenth zone, I decided to make a name for myself again, this time as my new persona. Kazuto, a boy whose power and skill rivaled that of the strongest player at the time. The boy had seemingly sprung up overnight, using two handguns with incredible skill.

It was odd, but with a simple change of appearance, weapons, and the use of a fake name, no one even came close to suspecting that "Kazuto" was actually "Kiriko," the girl whose name would forever live in infamy as the strongest, most brutal player.

The male me gained quite a bit of fame and respect, quickly rising through the player-determined rankings until he was even stronger than the number one-ranked player. Some said that his power rivaled that of the infamous Kiriko, who everyone believed was still alive, grinding somewhere in secret.

Which brings us to the present. With eighteen «Checkpoints» cleared, the nineteenth having just been found and the twentieth coming fast, people wanted to find and exterminate the living legend before he caused another massacre.

"I promise," Klein said, looking at me with serious eyes. "That I won't go to the twentieth «Checkpoint» clearing. I don't want to fight my best friend, and… I know that you've been through more than enough of that. You had to kill at least five people whom you could have called friends during the «BoB», right? I don't want to be added to that list, but not just because I fear for my life. I…"

I looked at him, eyes urging him to continue. He took a few seconds, then finally began speaking again.

"I don't want to see you go through the pain of losing another friend," he finally said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I know that others couldn't see it, but I did. When I was watching the «Bullet of Bullets» through the view-screen like everyone else, every time I saw you kill a friend… I saw the pain in your eyes. I don't want to see you like that ever again."

During his speech, tears had begun building up in his eyes. I found myself moving on autopilot, enveloping him in a tight embrace as I began soaking his shirt with my tears. Klein was like a big brother to me, and he was the only person I knew I could show my vulnerable side to.

Once I finally calmed down, I pulled back, looking into his gentle, chocolate-brown eyes with confident yet teary steel-gray ones. "And in turn, I promise you that I'll win. I'll survive to see you and the «Crimson Guns» again, I swear."

* * *

The next morning, I woke up feeling more refreshed than I had in days, weeks, even. I stretched out under the covers of my bed, suddenly feeling extremely grateful for the ability to be myself in that room. Yawning loudly, I slowly sat up, going into my equipment menu. As much as I liked to be in regular female clothing, which happened to be much more comfortable, I knew I had to go back to the front lines soon. The boss meeting for the nineteenth «Checkpoint» would be held that day, and I wanted to be there as Kazuto, my male persona.

"Well, it was good to rest like this for at least one day," I said to myself, looking over at a mirror on the wall across from my bed. I took in one last look at myself, knowing that I would soon have to change once more.

Long, lustrous ebony hair that came down to around my mid-back, with long bangs that covered my eyes when I looked down. A thin, yet well-toned frame, frozen in a physically fit state by the «Nerve Gear». Average height, a medium-sized bust, a curvy figure, and long, slender legs. Though I had never believed it myself, I had heard many a player call me beautiful before the incident right after the tenth «Checkpoint». Though I'm embarrassed to admit it, many male players had even proposed to me before the incident. Of course, I turned each one down gently, though on the inside, the thought of marrying any of them completely repulsed me.

I heard a knocking at my door, startling me for the faintest of moments before I regained myself. I began to re-equip my male clothing and armor, but stopped when I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, it's Argo!" the feminine voice said through the door. "Open up!"

Without hesitation, I stopped equipping my male clothing, closing my menu and standing up. I walked over to the door, unlocking it and opening it just a crack. I stepped back and behind the now-opening door, just in case one of Klein's Legion members was in the hallway at the time.

When the door shut behind her, the girl known as Argo looked at me with a smirk. The hood of her brown cloak was pulled down, revealing her dirty blonde hair and beige whisker marks on her cheeks. As with most of my friends, she was slightly taller than me, which, as usual, made her slightly intimidating. Not because of her power as a player, but because of the power she had over me.

Yeah, that's right. She knew my secret. She knew that I was really Kiriko, and yet for some reason, she didn't tell anyone, despite the fact that she could sell the valuable information for billions of Credits. She was an information broker, after all, and one of the most well-known ones, to boot. She was known for getting her hands on impossible-to-find information, then selling it for lots of Credits. There was a rumor amongst the other players that she was so hungry for money, she would even sell her grandmother if she could profit from it. Thus, it was a miracle that she hadn't sold me out yet. Still, that didn't stop me from being wary of her. She could literally make me do anything she wanted, and I would have to submit, since she might decide to tell other players my secret, and then… everything would be over.

Despite my fear of her, I still felt a certain closeness with her that I didn't feel with Klein. Maybe it was because of how nice she was to me, despite having the full ability to be a controlling ass and get away with it. Maybe it was because I knew her from the beta. Whatever the case, we remained close friends, even after she found out my true identity.

"So, what brings you here?" I queried, looking up at her curiously. "I don't suppose you're just here to chat."

"You got me," she said, lightly poking my left breast with her left index finger. I flinched back at the touch, causing her to put on an expression of mock-hurt for a few seconds. "Is it really that bad?"

"What?" I asked her, sighing when I received no response.

After a few seconds, she began talking again, though she completely avoided answering my question. "So, the reason I came here is to discuss a certain player who's been rising up in the player rankings."

"Why? Do you think he or she could get to my level?" I queried, finally showing genuine interest.

"No, I don't," Argo replied, looking at me with an expression that said there was much more to it. "But that isn't the problem. Even if she can't match you in level, she's got a huge advantage on you. It may be the death of you if she goes on the twentieth boss raid."

I looked at Argo with a perplexed expression, inwardly picking my brain to find any clue as to what she meant. "What is this advantage?" I asked her after giving up.

"She's said to be a master sniper," Argo said grimly, looking at me intently. "She can hit her opponent, monster or human, from fifteen-hundred meters away with ease. What's worse, her weapon is able to one-shot every player it hits, as well as deal serious damage to monsters."

"That's adorable. You think that's a threat," I said, waving my hand dismissively. You've forgotten about my ability to deflect bullets, haven't you? Not only that, but recently, I've developed another ability, one that helps in situations just like this."

"And what would that be?" Argo queried, her face the perfect image of skeptical.

I smirked, looking out the window. "You'll see soon enough."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**And once again, I'm amazed at my speed in getting this out! I hope the quality wasn't affected… on that note, please be sure to tell me what you think of this chapter. Like I mentioned above, this is the first chapter made solely from content I pulled out of my… various places.**

**Anyway, let's disclaim this thing and leave!**

**Seriously, I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series. Or any of its adaptations. Or anything I use from them. It should be bloody obvious by now (odd how I'm American, and I just used the word "bloody" like that).**

**See you next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 4: Enter the Sniper

Gun Gale Online: The Swordswoman

Chapter Four: Enter the Sniper

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Okay, I don't know what the hell happened. Here I am, with another chapter after only two days! My updating schedule has gone crazy fast!**

**That said, this is another chapter that I pulled out of my hat, without copying a thing. The last chapter seemed to go over well, so I guess that means that my writing actually isn't total crap. Hooray!**

**Anyway, I'll shut up now and let you guys read the actual chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

_"She's said to be a master sniper," Argo said grimly, looking at me intently. "She can hit her opponent, monster or human, from fifteen-hundred meters away with ease. What's worse, her weapon is able to one-shot every player it hits, as well as deal serious damage to monsters."_

_"That's adorable. You think that's a threat," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "You've forgotten about my ability to deflect bullets, haven't you? Not only that, but recently, I've developed another ability, one that helps in situations just like this."_

_"And what would that be?" Argo queried, her face the perfect image of skeptical._

_I smirked, looking out the window. "You'll see soon enough."_

* * *

The sun wasn't out that day.

The weather was overcast, though judging by the amount of overhead clouds, the weather setting wouldn't allow any rain. Even so, the clouds cast shadows everywhere, making the entire city look dark and somehow… creepy. The fact that the buildings were already mostly dark in color didn't help matters much.

The wonder of it all was that the weather here was probably very different from that of all of the other zones. Each zone was like its own separate world, with its own physical characteristics and climate. Thus, the weather was always different from zone to zone. It made me wonder why we didn't relocate the meeting spot to a different zone, one where the weather didn't look so depressing. Having weather bordering on the thunderstorm setting wasn't exactly a good help for increasing the morale of the players.

Even so, it didn't unnerve me. I wasn't exactly one to complain about the weather on such an important day. And, of course, the day was a very important one. We – well, Klein, his top legion members, and I, that is – were all heading to the meeting spot for the boss strategy conference. I had a head start since I didn't want to be seen with Klein and his men, so I was already almost to the spot.

As I continued to walk through the dark, creepy streets, appearing completely unfazed on the outside, I couldn't help but notice a girl with short, dyed-light blue hair that looked to be about my age, walking a little further ahead of me. I couldn't see much more than her back, and she didn't look to have a weapon equipped, leaving me with no clue as to who she was or what she was doing there.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed that this girl was trying to walk quickly, almost as if she were scared by the dark streets. Well, I couldn't exactly blame her.

I sped up my pace, walking up to the girl and patting her on the shoulder. The resulting tiny squeak of surprise struck me as completely adorable, but I quickly brushed the thought aside as the girl turned to me with an angry expression.

Before she could get a word in, I cut her off. "Hey, you looked like you were a bit lost," I said, giving her a gentle smile. "Where are you headed? I can escort you."

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm not lost," the girl huffed, turning her head away. "My destination is only a little bit further ahead."

"What a coincidence," I said, putting my hands behind my head. "So is mine. I'll walk with you until we have to split off."

After that little exchange, no more words were said. They didn't need to be, since the awkward silence that ensued spoke volumes. Even still, I continued to walk alongside this blue-haired girl, acting unfazed by her cold demeanor. Something about her just sparked my interest, and for some reason, I felt like I shouldn't leave her side just yet.

When the two of us had almost reached my destination, I decided to part ways with the girl, though the feeling of wanting to stay with her still lingered. "Well, I think we should part here," I said, causing her to stop in her tracks.

"Why?" she queried, looking at me with a slightly nervous expression on her face. "Can you not show anyone where you're going or something?"

_Why does she even want to know? She didn't seem to like me earlier…_

"Something like that…" I said, rubbing the back of my head with my right hand. "Sorry. But I have a feeling we'll be meeting again."

The girl smiled, then continued to walk forward. Turning her head so that she could see me out of the corner of her eye as she walked, she said, "Thanks for accompanying me."

With that, she walked onward.

I waited until I would be out of her line of sight, should she turn around, and then I ran into an alleyway. The place I was set to meet up had been a different one than the standard meeting place, as per the usual. Ever since my male persona had risen into the top player-determined rankings, I had started helping host the strategy conferences, so I met up with the hosts rather than the people coming to hear about the boss.

When I arrived at the back entrance to the theater where the meeting would take place, I knocked on the door, and it opened up after a few seconds to reveal a girl with long, light-chestnut hair, matching eyes, and a nice figure. The girl was mostly dressed in white with red and silver trim.

This girl was the current leader of the Legion thought of as the strongest, known as the «Bloody Oath of Arms». She seemed to have an irrational hatred for me, though one could say it was because of my male persona's slacker nature. To me, the one on the receiving end of her hate, it seemed to run much deeper than a simple difference of how I spent my free time. I always worried that she had found out my secret, but if she did, than she probably would have said something by that point.

Despite her dislike for me, she couldn't deny my strength. That's why I had been selected as one of the permanent hosts for the boss strategy conferences. The people respected Kazuto, and having him as a host made them more likely to show up. It was purely strategic, and I have a feeling that if I didn't have the respect of the players, she wouldn't even let me participate in the boss raids.

Asuna stepped aside, allowing me entrance into the back room of the theater. I exchanged pleasantries with the hosts in my immediate vicinity, before hearing footsteps coming from behind me.

"Hey, Kazuto!" a deep voice with a slight American accent said from behind me. "How've you been holding up?"

I turned around, finding an exceedingly tall, bald man with dark skin, a muscular build and heavy armor. Known as one of the strongest STR-build players, he and his completely overpowered «Mini gun» had sent countless powerful monsters and PKers to their graves. His power intimidated even me, since his Strength stat was so damn high that he could still sprint, even with his seemingly two-ton weapon equipped. In short, he was one of the few people who I was afraid to face in combat.

Even so, we had become fairly close in my time as Kazuto, which is ironic considering he hated my guts as Kiriko for some reason, even before the incident. Still, I wasn't going to complain, since it made it much easier to work with him now.

"So, I'm guessing that your team was the one who scouted out the «Checkpoint» labyrinth this time around?" I queried, looking at the dark-skinned giant with a smirk. If he was backstage, then it was obvious that he took some part in the exploring of the labyrinth. He wasn't an official regular when it came to hosting the conferences, so there was no other explanation.

"You know it, Kazuto," he replied, holding out his large fist. I met it with my own, and then he continued. "Would you expect anything less of me and my Legion, the «Thousand Eyes»? We're the masters of scouting through the labyrinths and gathering information."

The «Thousand Eyes» legion. This man was a member, and he lead the scout teams. But the real leader, the one who lead this world's largest network of information brokering, was…

"By the way, the boss said she was going to see you," my bald friend said, giving me a confused look. "Where'd she get off to?"

"Oh, Argo?" I queried, looking at him with a smirk. "She went to check out some things. She said she would be back at the «Thousand Eyes» HQ in a couple of days. But you don't need to worry about her, Agil. She can take care of herself, trust me."

The dark-skinned man known as Agil sighed, deciding to drop the subject. "Anyway, let's get the hosts informed about the boss so we can start the meeting."

"Sounds good, man," I replied. Just like that, we called all of the hosts over and began to talk strategy.

Despite being one of the regular hosts for the boss conferences, I never really said much. I was more of a figure head than anything else, but it didn't really bother me. I didn't like speaking to large groups of people in the first place, so it was a relief to not have to say much in front of the forty-or-so players that made up the current raid team.

As I listened to Agil and Asuna take turns telling people the info on the boss, I decided to do a headcount of the crowd to see exactly how many people would be participating in the raid. I quickly set to work, counting all the way to thirty-two before seeing a familiar face in the crowd. And no, it wasn't Klein; I had already moved past him and his men.

It was the blue-haired girl. She sat in the back row, leaning forward with a determined look. Not appearing scared in the slightest, I almost caught a chill from her expression. She still didn't have a weapon equipped, but I got the sense that she was indeed powerful, no matter what weapon she might have.

_Speaking of weapons…_ I thought, looking down at my belt. In its holsters rested two guns, one on either side. As Kiriko, I always used a «Photon Sword», but that would have been a dead giveaway as to my true identity if I used it as Kazuto. Thus, I now mainly used two handguns. Though having two «Bullet Circles» appear in my vision at once could make things more complicated when aiming, I had enough of a sense of accuracy to hit my targets without focusing on them.

"All right, we meet in three days time for the boss fight, so get your weapons ready in that time!" I heard Asuna shout, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Meeting adjourned, people!"

_Crap!_ I thought, looking around frantically. _I completely zoned out for, like, five whole minutes!_

When everyone got up to leave, I looked around for the blue-haired girl. Unfortunately, I found no trace of her, as if she had completely vanished within mere seconds of the meeting having ended. Sighing in defeat, I turned around and went backstage to look for Agil and Asuna, both of whom had already left the stage.

As soon as I went behind the curtains, I saw Asuna and Agil about to leave. Though I felt a little ashamed, I needed to know what I missed. "Agil! Asuna!"

Both of them stopped just short of reaching the door, turning to look at me. I gulped, then finally said what needed to be said. "Could one of you please recap the last five minutes of the conference? I was kind of spaced out…"

"You idiot!" Asuna shouted her predictable response. "How could you zone out for five whole minutes?! I knew you were a slacker, but a space-case, too? How did you even live this long, let alone manage to become so strong?"

_If it were my choice, I wouldn't be alive today. But I have to survive…_ was what I wanted to say to her. I held my tongue, knowing that it would only raise question.

Agil, however, had a very different idea in mind as to why I was spaced out. "I get it…" he said smugly, giving me a look that said, 'you are so busted.' "You saw a cute girl in the crowd, didn't you?"

Now, the old me I would deny an accusation like that calmly. Hell, the old me wouldn't even be asked a question like that. However much I wanted to calmly deny it, I found myself nearly choking on my own tongue at his words.

"No way, man!" I shouted fervently. "Besides, there aren't any cute girls among the clearers, anyway!"

It was then that I found a gun pointed at my head. I turned to face Asuna, who had an incredibly agitated look on her face. "Well, thanks for telling us your opinion, asshole!"

Though her firing a gun at me in a safe area wouldn't lower my HP or turn her cursor orange, we all knew that it would hurt like hell. I held up my hands to my face, covering my eyes and bracing myself for the impact.

Luckily for me, Agil picked the perfect moment to break the tension with, "Well, if you're so insistent that it wasn't a girl that distracted you, then would you mind telling us what did?"

_Crap in a bucket!_ I shouted inwardly, knowing that this topic could end up even worse than the last. _Come on, think…!_

At last, after a good ten seconds of wracking my brain for an answer, I finally stumbled across an idea. "Well… I've been thinking about the twentieth «Checkpoint» recently. It's coming up fast, and after that, we all know what'll happen."

Agil and Asuna looked at me sympathetically. Agil was the first to speak, his tone matching his expression. "I guess you're afraid of running into Kiriko, huh? Trust me, we all are."

"I'm not afraid of running into her," I said, looking up at Agil with a determined expression. "I'm confident that I could beat her with my two guns. And to be honest, I really want to. A lot of my friends died in the first «Bullet of Bullets». It's because my friends died that I don't want to fight in the next one."

"I don't get it," Agil said, the very image of perplexed. "Wouldn't you want to avenge the deaths of your friends by killing Kiriko?"

"But that's just it," I said, looking at the ground. "To avenge the deaths of my old friends, I would end up having to kill my new ones afterwards. It's a vicious cycle, Agil. The winner of the first «Bullet of Bullets» will be hated, then inevitably killed in the second because players will gang up on them. Then, the winner of the second one will be hated for killing off everyone else, and they, too, will be killed in the third one. The cycle will repeat itself, I'm sure of it. That's why…

"That's why I'm not going on the twentieth «Checkpoint» boss raid. I don't want to have to kill anyone I care about."

"I understand," Agil said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Well, then, how about this? I'll be the only one of the three of us to go to that raid, since I don't want to end up killing either one of you. But I promise you both, I'll avenge the deaths of the thirty-one players who didn't make it because of Kiriko. With my «Mini Gun», I guarantee you that I'll beat her if she comes!"

I smiled bitterly, looking down at the ground as the rim of my hat covered my eyes. _Well, that means that I'm going to have to face Agil. I'll be able to beat him one-on-one, I'm sure of it. But if he attacks me with a group of other players, I'll stand no chance._

Looking up, I decided to play along. "All right, you've got yourself a deal. You'd better survive, Agil!"

"Count on it!"

* * *

The next day, as I roamed the border between desert and mountain areas of the nineteenth zone, I tried my damnedest to shake off the feeling that something bad was coming my way. It felt as if I would be attacked soon. This feeling had always occurred just before a group of PKers would attack me, but for some reason, I didn't sense any other players nearby. Then, I realized what it must have meant.

_A sniper!_

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a gunshot coming from very far away to my right. Instantly reacting, my high AGI stat came into play as I moved even faster than the bullet and fully evaded it. The cloud of dust and sand that the shot kicked up was massive enough to mask my presence as I moved to hide, allowing me safe passage.

_The shot came from the mountain area, so I'm sure that my attacker is a sniper by now. They probably shot me from the small forest at the base of the mountain,_ I thought as I ran. _Should I go towards my attacker, or should I run away?_

In the end, I decided to confront whoever had the guts to attack me. After all, it's not every day that someone attacks a top-tier player like me, even if they were a sniper with a huge distance from me. everyone who knew of me knew that my speed and reflexes were unparalleled by any and all other players, rendering long shots ineffective, as I could simply dodge them as soon as I heard the gunshot. In short, the only way to hit me with a gun is to fire it point blank, which defeats the purpose of a sniper.

_You picked the wrong person to target,_ I thought, shooting at the ground several meters in front of me with my right gun to kick up another cloud of sand to obscure the sniper's vision of me. This prevented my assailant from being able to see me for an even longer period of time, and by the time the sand had cleared, I had reached the base of the mountain, which put me too close to the sniper for them to see me.

_My gutsy friend probably shot from above, since it would give them a better view of me. I've got to look for a plateau,_ I thought, finally calming my pounding heart. I began my search, walking through the forest to find my foolish attacker.

Climbing up various hills in the forest proved to be fairly tiring. My VIT stat wasn't very high, and that stat controlled the majority of my physical stamina, so I didn't exactly have a lot of tolerance for walking on rough terrain.

At last, I heard the sound of a gunshot ring throughout the forest. It sounded close by, but I quickly noticed that it wasn't the sound a sniper rifle makes.

_Weird… that sounds like an assault rifle,_ I thought, stopping for a moment. _I may as well check it out…_

I ran in the direction of the gunshot putting a hand on my right gun, which I had holstered as I walked through the forest. Eventually, I came to a clearing by a cliff, where a very interesting, albeit a bit frightening, scene played out before me.

Three players with orange cursors were pointing their guns at a player that I couldn't see from my current location. They were at the edge of the cliff, and they seemed to be trying to force the other player off. As I slowly closed in, using their distraction to avoid being seen, I finally saw who they were attacking, and it made my virtual blood boil.

It was the blue-haired girl. She had a large, powerful-looking sniper rifle in her hands, and she was holding it to her chest. I instantly realized what was going on, but I needed to be sure. And so, I crept up a little closer, then stopped to listen to what they were saying.

"Come on, girlie," one of the three players said roughly. "Just hand over that weapon and nobody gets hurt."

Immediately after, one of the other two said, "Why can't we just kill her, boss? If we do, we'll get all of her equipment."

I wanted to rush right in and help her. I had no doubt that I could beat a few measly orange players myself, but something was stopping me from taking action.

_If I kill the orange players, I won't become one myself, but…!_

The image of a smiling girl with midnight-blue hair appeared in my mind, and I immediately remembered her final words.

"_Please… survive for me…"_

I grit my teeth, closing my eyes tightly. I couldn't do it; I just couldn't kill another player, even if they were a killer. But then, I heard one of them say something that changed the whole situation.

"Come on, boss! It'll be fun!"

My eyes opened wide, rage etched into my features. I pulled my right gun from its holster silently, taking aim at what I assumed to be their leader's head.

_They take pleasure in killing!_ I thought angrily, resting my finger on the trigger. The bullet circle appeared in my vision. _They're the worst kind there is! I'll kill them!_

When the bullet circle was at its smallest, I pulled the trigger, firing a shot right at the back of the leader's head. With a satisfying shriek of terror, he fell to the ground, his avatar shattering just like crimson-colored glass.

The other two turned to me, only for the one on the right to be met with another headshot. Like his leader, his avatar immediately shattered, leaving the last PKer alone. He immediately pointed his semi-auto hand gun at me, and just as fast, I shot it out of his hand.

With incredible speed, I sprinted towards the player's gun, which had fallen about a meter to his right. He began running towards it as well, but I got there first, kicking it off of the cliff. I then immediately pointed my right gun at the man, slowly turning face to him with a look of primal fury burned into my features.

"All right, shit-for-brains," I said, voice low and dangerous. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know or I _will_ kill you. Make the slightest move against me, and I'll kill you anyway. Got it?"

"Y-yes, sir!" the orange player shouted, the very image of terrified.

"Who sent you?" I asked him, voice cold and calculating.

It was then that I noticed the mark on his left arm. The mark of a skull with a bullet hole in its side. I smirked, telling him one final thing. "Never mind, I figured it out."

And just like that, I pulled the trigger once more, sending his soul to the depths of hell as his avatar shattered like glass.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**What do you think? Is it good, bad, or just 'meh'? Well, no matter what you think of the chapter, I'd love to hear a review! Preferably one that gives the specifics of what you like and don't like, but I'll try not to be too picky.**

**Anyway, I don't have much else to say. So I guess I'll just disclaim this chapter and start writing the next one!**

… **You know what? Never mind. I'm not doing this disclaimer again. I've already made it blatantly obvious in my previous chapters that I don't own anything SAO-related, so just no. I'm not doing it. Not anymore.**

**God damn it! I did it anyway, didn't I? Eh, whatever. I don't feel like going back and changing it, so…**

**See you next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 5: I Need a Reason

Gun Gale Online: The Swordswoman

Chapter Five: I Need a Reason

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Well, this one took a bit longer. Sorry, I don't really have an excuse this time around. What's worse, I have grave news for those of you who expect me to update, like, five times a week or something. You see, I have school coming back on Monday, the eleventh of August. Thus, I won't be able to update as frequently after that day.**

**Fear not, however, as I still plan to work on this story. I just won't be updating as frequently, that's all.**

**I guess that's all I need too say for this note. Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_"All right, shit-for-brains," I said, voice low and dangerous. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know or I __will__ kill you. Make the slightest move against me, and I'll kill you anyway. Got it?"_

_"Y-yes, sir!" the orange player shouted, the very image of terrified._

_"Who sent you?" I asked him, voice cold and calculating._

_It was then that I noticed the mark on his left arm. The mark of a skull with a bullet hole in its side. I smirked, telling him one final thing. "Never mind, I figured it out."_

_And just like that, I pulled the trigger once more, sending his soul to the depths of hell as his avatar shattered like glass._

* * *

I spun my gun around by its trigger guard, once, twice, thrice, before grabbing it by the handle again and putting it back in its holster. Looking back over to the blue-haired girl, I noticed the relieved expression on her face. But I didn't care. She had shot at me, meaning that she was almost as guilty as the PKers I had just killed.

Just as I began to walk away wordlessly, I heard the girl call out to me. "Hey!" she shouted, causing me to turn my head so that I could see her out of the corner of my eye.

"What is it?" I asked, my face impassive and voice apathetic.

It seemed as if the girl was struggling for words. Even though I didn't really care about whatever she had to say, I waited patiently. For some reason, something about her still held my attention, even after she tried to shoot me.

"Why?" she finally queried, sounding unsure of herself. "Why did you save me? I shot at you before…"

What she said struck me as incredibly stupid, yet I couldn't help but burst into bitter laughter. "Don't misread me," I said after I quieted down. "I didn't save you. I just killed them."

"Then why didn't you kill me?"

I turned around to look at this girl, this foolish sniper with blue hair, a nice figure, and uncharacteristically timid eyes. I briefly registered her beauty, which completely contradicted what I told Asuna and Agil after the meeting. When I looked back to her eyes, I pulled out my right gun, spinning it around once, trice, thrice, before pointing it at her. Finally, I spoke.

"That's a good question," I said, looking at her with a cold and calculating expression. "Why didn't I kill you? You shot at me, after all."

I could see her tense her virtual muscles, as if she thought I would actually pull the trigger. My ruse muse have seemed a little too realistic. I put my gun back in its holster, and she visibly relaxed. "But no, there was a reason that I didn't kill you.

"Ironically, the reason I didn't kill you is that I had no reason," I said, face grim. "I don't kill people without a reason to back up my actions. I didn't kill you because I saw no need to. But those people, those Player Killers…

"They enjoyed killing other players. It makes me sick," I said, voice growing louder and louder. "They're the worst kind of people there are!"

I heard the blue-haired girl walk up to me, and when I looked up, I saw a sympathetic expression on her face. As she neared me, she began talking in a quiet voice. "You really feel strongly about this, don't you?"

"I don't want sympathy from someone who tried to shoot me less than an hour ago," I said with a glare, watching as the girl shrunk back in fear. I sighed, looking aside. "Relax, I already told you that I don't intend to kill you."

After a relieved sigh, I heard her walk towards me once more. Before I could tell her not to, she sat down beside me, asking me exactly what I hoped she wouldn't ask. "By the way, how did you manage to evade my shot? It should have been traveling faster than the speed of sound, so—"

"I'm going to guess that you've never seen someone evade a sniper shot before, right?" I queried, not even looking at her for affirmation before continuing. "If so, then you must be pretty good. But you see, we're in a video game, not real life. If a player's «Listening Skill» is high enough, they can hear gunshots from much farther away than humanly possible, which means they could have heard the gunshot at the same time that it happened. Most people don't bother equipping it, but I wanted to be able to avoid sniper fire when necessary. And, as you can tell, it worked."

An outright lie. Though everything I said about the game mechanics was true, I never equipped my «Listening Skill», so I shouldn't have been able to hear the shot. The only reason I did was…

_Because of an «Outside System Skill»… and an incredibly rare one at that. «Presence Sense»… the ability to sense murderous intent, allowing me to know when a PKer is nearby. But with snipers, it's different. I don't sense their presence, but I sense the murderous intent. When it spikes, meaning that the sniper is about to pull the trigger, my brain tricks my senses into hearing a gunshot right when the trigger is pulled, as some sort of defense mechanism. With my high AGI stat, I can evade them with ease._

After a few seconds of silence, I began to speak again. "But still, if you had shot at me when I was even fifty meters closer, I would have been a goner," I said, smiling lightly. "I'm lucky that your gun was strong enough to kick up so much sand!"

"Don't chalk it up to luck," the girl said, smiling at me once I turned to her. "You had to have a crazy-high AGI stat to be able to move that quickly."

I smiled in return, then looked away as a look of grave seriousness crossed my features. "But anyway, why _did_ you shoot me?"

"I don't exactly know what happened, myself," my blue-haired acquaintance said, making me look at her curiously. "You see, I was looking for a mini-boss that was supposed to spawn around where you were using my scope, and then I saw you. But for some reason, when I first saw you…"

"Go on," I prodded.

"My eyes were playing tricks on me, I guess," she said, averting her gaze. "Because when I first saw you, you looked exactly like that evil girl, the one who destroyed the clearing group right after the tenth «Checkpoint»."

I looked down at myself in fear, though my outside remained composed. When I noted that I didn't look at all like my former self, I finally deduced that her eyes must have been playing tricks on her, like she said.

"As soon as I saw it, I took aim, then shot," the girl continued. "When the cloud of sand kept me from seeing you, I knew I had missed. But then, right after you came out, I blinked. When I opened my eyes, and I saw that you weren't Kiriko."

"Trying to honor some childish notion of justice?" I queried, laughing bitterly. "Even if it _was_ Kiriko, and you _did_ manage to hit her, you would become a murderer, just like her. She killed so many people, some of which I liked. But I'm not going to try to kill her if it means that I'll be dragged down into the depths of hell with her in the end."

_Even though I'm already in a living hell every day… haunted by the terrified faces of the players I killed in that battle every night when I fall asleep._

"I don't want justice…" the girl said, looking at me with a determined expression. "I want revenge. My best friend in real life was killed by that monster, leaving with me with no one. That's the sole reason that I leveled up until I could join the clearers… because I want to see Kiriko scream in agony as I shoot her over and over with my handgun. I want to see her suffer before I kill her.

"I lost my composure when I saw her from that far away, but if and when I really see her, I won't be so stupid."

The sadistic smile on her face as she said those words… though I didn't show it, it absolutely terrified me. Even amongst the other clearers, I had never seen someone with such an intense hatred for me. And I knew… such an intense hate could easily turn into power. I kept my composure, masking my fear with a bitter laugh.

_Does she even know about my ability to deflect bullets? If it's from a handgun at close range, I can easily use my «Photon Sword» to deflect them. She said she wouldn't be so stupid, but trying to shoot me with a handgun at close range is even dumber than trying to snipe me._

"Well, I guess there's no changing your mind, huh?" I said after I finished laughing, looking to the sky. "Well, it's not like it's my business anyway."

I got up, my wistful gaze still focused on the blue, nearly cloudless sky. "Well, I'd best get going. That mini-boss in the desert was the only tough mob for at least two kilometers, and I've got to train for the raid."

"You beat it all by yourself?!" the blue-haired girl shouted, making me turn around just enough to see her shocked face. When I did, she spoke in a lower voice. "Just who _are_ you?"

Before I could allow myself to be worried that she might have figured me out, I looked over to her, giving her a peace sign with my left hand. "My name is Kazuto. When we get to the final «Checkpoint», I'll be the one to beat this game. You can count on that."

"Big words," my blue-haired friend said cockily. "But can you back them up when Kiriko is still alive?"

"She'll probably be dead by the time the fiftieth «Checkpoint» is reached, especially if you get to her," I said, turning around slowly. "Anyway, I'll see you at the nineteenth «Checkpoint» boss raid."

I began to walk away from the girl, a frown on my features. _It looks like I've made another enemy, and she doesn't even know it. it's a shame that I'll have to kill someone with so much potential, not to mention good looks— wait, what?_

Before I could ponder the strangeness of my most recent thought, I heard my unwitting enemy call out to me. "Hey!"

"What is it?" I asked her quietly.

After a few seconds of silence, I began walking again. Now that I was finally leaving, I somehow felt horrible for what I knew I would eventually have to do. I knew… that in a few short months, I would have to kill her in the second «Bullet of Bullets».

_I thought I had become numb to the killing when it comes to fighting players with a dark side like hers. So why… why do I feel so bad about it with this girl? I don't even know her name…_

I felt a hand grip my sleeve, making me stop in my tracks. I turned my head to see her from the corner of my eyes, watching as she struggled to find words.

"Would you accompany me back to town?" she finally asked me, a light dusting of pink on her cheeks. "I don't have any teleporting items, and I'm a little low-leveled for close combat."

I sighed, inwardly weighing my options. _I have several teleporting items with me, and I don't want this girl getting too strong, since I know I'll have to fight her one day. If she fights mobs while we're on the way, then she might level up. Even five levels in this game can make a world of difference in power. But… for some reason, I want to stay with her longer._

Finally, I made a decision. "How about I use a «Corridor Generator» to open up a portal for us to go through? What city do you live in, anyway?"

_I'd rather keep my chances of survival high than follow some foolish human desire. There's no reason to potentially put my life in danger for some girl I just met a day ago. Yet even still, I want her to at least live… for now._

"I just buy a room in a cheap inn every night," she replied meekly. "So I don't have a set city I live in."

I heaved a loud sigh. I felt an incredibly stupid idea pop into my head, and now that it did, it wouldn't go away. _Damn it…! Why the hell do I want to be kind to this girl? I'll just end up killing her in the end…!_

And yet, despite my much better judgment, I found myself averting my eyes before saying, "I've been staying at a friend's place. Would you want to spend the night there?"

Immediately after I said it, I realized the implications of what I had said. I was supposed to be a boy, and she was a girl. I was offering to essentially take her to my house to spend the night. A lot of misunderstandings could sprout from that. "O-of course, I'd make sure the guest bedroom is available for you."

I heard the sound of what I could only describe as laughter coming from her. When I turned to meet her gaze, I found her body shaking with laughter, with an amused smile on her face.

"What's so funny?" I queried in mock-anger. For some reason, watching her laugh actually made me feel happy as well, and it was making it hard to be serious.

"You, obviously," she replied, finally recovering from her outburst of laughter. "You really don't deal with girls much, do you?"

At this comment, I found myself slouching over in annoyance. "Not any normal ones, no," I responded, going into my inventory. "So, do you want to come with me or not?"

"Sure, I'm game," she said with a smile.

I went into my inventory, quickly materializing a «Corridor Generator». After the large, rectangular metal object appeared in my hands, I threw it into the air, where it hovered as I spoke the location I wished to travel to. "Open corridor: «SSC City»!"

From its spot in the air, the generator sprouted two blue, diagonal lines, which then curved around until they went straight into the ground. A blue light began to expand from the middle of the shape drawn by the lines, and soon enough, the corridor was ready.

"Let's go," I told her, looking over to her. She had a grateful smile on her face, one that made me feel weird inside… but it was a good weird.

_What's going on with me?_ I thought, averting my eyes as I began walking towards the corridor.

"Yeah," she replied in a happy voice.

With that, we walked through the corridor together.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Yeah, I know it's short (Only twenty-eight hundred words, in fact), mostly dialogue-focused, and really not my best work. Still, I like to think that this isn't **_**total**_** crap… well, that's for you, the readers, to decide.**

**So yeah, I'd like to ask you to review, but I realize that I'll probably get a few anyway, so there's no point in asking. Thus, I think that I'll ask the people who intend to review to be thoughtful, instead of just praising or hating mindlessly.**

**Damn, I know I have to do it, and even if I try not to, I'll just end up doing it anyway, so… disclaimer-writing, here I come…**

**I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series. Seriously. I don't. It's so freaking obvious. But even when it's so damn clear, I still have to write this useless waste of space. Why? Copyright, that's why.**

**On that note, I'll see you in in the next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 6: Relapse

Gun Gale Online: The Swordswoman

Chapter Six: Relapse

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Yeah, I know, this chapter is short as hell. Sorry, guys. Still, I couldn't figure out how to keep going. So, I just decided to post this, despite the fact that the actual chapter content is less than 2000 words. So yeah, here it is. Hopefully, it'll suffice until I can write out the next chapter.**

**Well, that's it for this note! Without further ado, enjoy chapter six!**

* * *

_I went into my inventory, quickly materializing a «Corridor Generator». After the large, rectangular metal object appeared in my hands, I threw it into the air, where it hovered as I spoke the location I wished to travel to. "Open corridor: «SSC City»!"_

_From its spot in the air, the generator sprouted two blue, diagonal lines, which then curved around until they went straight into the ground. A blue light began to expand from the middle of the shape drawn by the lines, and soon enough, the corridor was ready._

_"Let's go," I told her, looking over to her. She had a grateful smile on her face, one that made me feel weird inside… but it was a good weird._

What's going on with me?_ I thought, averting my eyes as I began walking towards the corridor._

_"Yeah," she replied in a happy voice._

_With that, we walked through the corridor together._

* * *

It was only after I arrived at Klein's doorstep that I realized how many things could go wrong with my current plan.

_I can't believe I offered to let her stay here… I'm such an idiot! Well, at least it's only for one night. But…_

I looked over at this girl whose name I still didn't know, and when she looked back, I saw her smile in a way that made my stomach do flips, yet also made my skin crawl. Why?

_That smile…_ I thought, averting my eyes back to the door. _Why does it have to look exactly like _hers_?_

After a moment's hesitation, I opened the door, motioning for my blue-haired friend to go in first. She silently walked in, that smile still on her face. When I followed her inside, I was greeted with a whistle and shout from the perpetually-drunken one of Klein's men.

"Whoa, what a chick!" he shouted before turning his head to the stairway. "Hey, boss! Kazuto brought a girl here!"

I heard the telltale sound of Klein coming down the stairs, this time without tripping. As he walked, I heard him query, "And it's not Argo?"

"Correct!" Klein's intoxicated subordinate said. "Her name is— wait, what _is_ her name?"

It was then that I remembered that I still had _no idea_ what the girl's name was. Before I could tell him and inevitably get laughed at, I heard something I never expected to hear.

"My name is Sinon," the blue-haired girl said, saving me from an embarrassing situation I was sure I would never live down. But then, the gravity of her name started to sink in.

_No way… this can't be real…_

I stumbled over to a table, leaning on it for support as my body started shaking. After at least a month without incident, I was finally relapsing into remembering – and reliving – parts of the first «Bullet of Bullets».

After a few seconds of gasping for air, I vaguely registered everyone in the room, most notably Klein and the blue-haired girl now known to me as Sinon, rushing over to my side. I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness, despite my best efforts to stay awake; I knew that if I passed out, the whole process would begin again.

Just as my friends got to me, I knew I couldn't hold on any longer. The memory of where I heard her name and the shock that came with it was too much for my tired mind to bear.

Everything faded into black.

* * *

_I have to survive,_ I thought as I sprinted through the forest area, severing all of the branches that got in my way with my «Photon Sword». _No matter what it takes. I promised her, and I don't go back on my promises._

I knew that surviving meant killing other players. Unlike the other players I had encountered in this horrific event so far, I had accepted it rather quickly. Out of the thirty-one other players, I had… killed… ten already. Even thinking of the word 'kill' made me nauseous before, but now, I felt oddly… calm. Maybe the adrenaline was so strong that it had started making me emotionally numb. Maybe after killing _her_, I felt that I had nothing left to lose. Whatever the case, I could only be grateful that in this state, I had no qualms about killing.

Even so, I knew it wouldn't last forever. After I won, the feeling would most likely wear off, and I would probably go insane. But, for the moment, I knew I had to take advantage of the serenity.

I stopped dead in my tracks, a light brown-haired boy about my age, just standing in front of me using his arms to block me. I couldn't see a weapon anywhere on him, so I could only assume that he had lost his sanity.

Just as I tensed my muscles to jump over the boy, I heard him say something that only reinforced my belief that he had lost any traces of sanity he had.

"Please, listen!" he shouted, his voice as desperate as his eyes. "You can kill me, but I need you to pass on a message to my friend!"

This intrigued me; this boy was actually giving up his life in exchange for his killer passing on a message? It seemed incredibly stupid, but for some reason, I found myself actually responding. "Don't you think that asking your killer to pass on a message to your friend could result in your friend's death?"

The response I got shocked me even more. This boy wasn't insane, he was a damn saint, and a naïve one at that. "I looked up to you for the longest time, so I know you aren't doing this because you enjoy it! You're incredibly kind, so I know you won't kill her!"

I sighed, looking at him with dull, lifeless eyes. "What is it?"

"I want you to tell her that not to blame either me or you for my death," the boy requested, leaving me wide-eyed. "And also… that I love her."

"What is her player name?" I queried, voice calm despite the thousand raging emotions tearing up my insides.

_Why am I doing this? Why can't I just kill him and move on? What's wrong with me?_

"Sinon," the boy said, his voice sounding relieved. "And my name is Spiegel."

I slowly pulled my handgun from its holster with my left hand, pointing it at his head. He didn't even flinch, only smiling at me gratefully.

"I promise you," I said softly, looking him in the eyes with a pained expression. "That if I ever find her, I'll tell her your message."

"Thank you," Spiegel replied, closing his eyes with a contented smile. He really was ready to die.

_No, thank you,_ I thought as I took aim, watching the «Bullet Circle» appear in my line of sight. It fluctuated wildly before calming down and settling on his head. _You reminded me that even in situations like this, every life is precious._

I closed my eyes tightly, not wanting to watch as I pulled the trigger on this saint of a boy. Even so, I felt my finger squeeze the trigger, and then—

_Bang!_

The sickening sound of shattering glass filled the area.

* * *

I awoke with tears streaming down my face, the dream still fresh in my mind. _Damn it… _I thought, clenching my hands into fists. _Just when I thought they had stopped…_

I took a look around through tear-filled eyes, quickly noting that the room I currently occupied was not the front room of Klein's legion base. Instead, I found myself in the comfortable bed in my room, with the lights off and curtains drawn. I sighed in relief, sitting up slowly. When I was fully vertical, I looked down at my hands, still shaking from the intensity of the dream. A lock of ebony hair fell into my field of vision, making me wonder where my hat had gone.

Looking over to my nightstand, I found my hat resting next to a picture taken of me, Argo and Klein eating at a diner to celebrate my return to the front lines as Kazuto. I smiled softly at the sight of the picture and the three smiling friends in it, forgetting about my troubles for the faintest of moments before I heard a knock on my door.

I quickly grabbed my hat, pulling my long hair upwards before stuffing it in my hat as I put it on. "I'm coming!" I shouted, rubbing my eyes to get rid of any remaining tears.

I got up out of bed, legs still a little weak. _Damn… I need to get a grip,_ I thought, leaning on my wall for support as I walked. When I reached the door, I opened it, only to be met with a head of bright blue hair. I moved aside to allow the blunette entry into my room, where she sat on my bed before speaking.

"I don't know what happened," she started, looking down as if she was the one at fault. "But… I know you're hurt. Are you going to be okay?"

I wanted to tell her no, that I wasn't okay, and I wasn't sure if I ever would be. I wanted to tell her to leave me the hell alone, since she was half of the reason I relapsed. Instead, I found myself trying my damnedest to be strong, to brush off the pain. "I… I'll be fine."

"Did I have something to do with why you passed out?"

This question caught me off guard. I didn't think she would be so perceptive. _I can't tell her…_ I thought, looking down at my slightly-trembling hands. _She's smart. She would figure it out, and then she would try to kill me._

"No…" I whispered, smiling a bitter smile as the bill of my hat covered my eyes. "It's not your fault. It's just… I remembered something I've been trying to forget."

Fortunately for me, she didn't press for more answers, instead opting to get up and walk towards the door. She spared me one last glance, a sympathetic smile that I didn't deserve coming across her features. "If you want to talk about it, I can be your shoulder to cry on."

With that, she opened the door and left the room, shutting it behind her. As soon as the door clicked shut, I felt the tears I had been holding back build up in my eyes, and I made no attempt to hold them back.

_I'm sorry, Spiegel… I wasn't able to keep my promise to you…_

I fell back on my bed, raising my trembling right hand over my eyes. _The hand that held the «Photon Sword» used to kill so many people…_

I let my right hand fall across my chest, then brought my left hand up where its other had just been. _The hand that held the gun that killed just as many, if not more…_

Letting my left hand fall atop my right, I felt tears trailing down the sides of my face. _Why is it… that I can't just move on…?_

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Yup, that's it for now. Backstories, backstories… they can be pretty interesting. In case you couldn't tell, that flashback dream was from the first Bullet of Bullets. What do you think?**

**Anyway, I'd like to take some time to address a particular review. I won't give any specifics, but I feel the need to respond to it, and any other person thinking what the reviewer did.**

**This story **_**is**_** yuri. There is no changing that, and if you don't like it, you don't have to keep reading. I'm not going to force you to read something that conflicts with your reading tastes, so please don't try to force those conflicting tastes onto me and this story.**

**Well, I've said my piece. There lies my opinion and decision, now it's your decision to keep reading or not.**

**Whew… sorry for all that. I'll just get on with not-so-generic disclaimer number seven, and then we can all get on with our normal lives! (Just kidding! I don't have one of those! :P)**

**I don't own it. Seriously, I don't. There is no way I could ever own the Sword Art Online light novel series or any of its adaptations without screwing them up big time. So yeah, just give up, copyright. I won't give in to your rein of fan-terrorization! I'll keep writing these disclaimers until the end of time!**

**See you next chapter, everyone!**


	8. Intermission: Calm before the Storm

Gun Gale Online: The Swordswoman

Intermission Chapter: Calm before the Storm

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Short as hell, yes. However, this is just a warm-up for what is to come. I wanted to test out the Gun Gale-writing muscles that I haven't stretched in a long time. I hope they haven't wasted away too much.**

**I know you must have noticed by now that this isn't chapter seven. Sorry if that pisses you off, but that's just how it is. To be perfectly honest, I originally planned for this to be a part of said seventh chapter, but I decided some focus needed to be put solely on the characters for a bit instead of going into action immediately after warm moments.**

**Anyway, this intermission chapter will focus on the dynamic between Argo and Kiriko. How they interact with each other in private, when no one will be there to interrupt or keep Kiriko from being herself. (I know what you perverts are thinking, but I don't mean anything romantic or sexy!)**

**Well, I guess that's all you need to know for now. See you below!**

* * *

_I fell back on my bed, raising my trembling right hand over my eyes. __The hand that held the «Photon Sword» used to kill so many people…_

_I let my right hand fall across my chest, then brought my left hand up where its other had just been. __The hand that held the gun that killed just as many, if not more…_

_Letting my left hand fall atop my right, I felt tears trailing down the sides of my face. __Why is it… that I can't just move on…?_

* * *

The next morning, when my eyes slowly fluttered open, I felt like I hadn't slept a wink at all. As I sat up in my bed, I faintly registered the fact that my hat was still atop my head, and the rest of my armor was equipped. "I must have fallen asleep in all of my clothes and armor," I whispered, looking around at my room.

I heard someone knocking at my door, then heard a familiar voice say, "Hey, I'm coming in!"

Before I could protest, a certain whiskered girl opened my door, walking in and heading straight for the bed where I sat. She sat down next to me, putting a comforting arm around my shoulder as we sat there in silence for a good while.

I was tempted to ask how much she knew of last night's events, as she rarely shared physical contact with anyone, let alone me. Ultimately, I decided against it, choosing instead to cherish one of her rare caring moments for as long as possible.

I sighed, closing my eyes and resting my head on the only thing available— Argo's shoulder, that is. She didn't protest, knowing that I was still a bit fragile.

"I heard what happened from Klein," she whispered after a while, her voice soft and hesitant. "I rushed over here as soon as I could, but when I got here…"

"What?" I didn't like the nervous tone in her voice. "What is it?"

"That new friend you made…" she began, her voice tentative. "She's the sniper I warned you about. The one that's rising in the player-determined rankings."

The silence that followed her proclamation was deafening. I couldn't breathe, couldn't _think_ for several moments, before my mind finally kicked into overdrive.

_So Sinon is not only a top-tier sniper, but she also has a vendetta against me? And then, there's… but I couldn't tell her without revealing my identity as the very person she wants to kill, and there's no way she would even believe me if I did…_

"Hey, Argo…" I whispered, looking up to my whiskered friend. "The reason I relapsed last night… it was because of her."

"What do you mean?" she queried gently, trying not to upset me.

"There was this boy in the «Bullet of Bullets» event," I began explaining, voice quiet as a mouse. "He wanted me to pass on a message to someone close to him… I listened to his message and promised to tell this person, but… that person is her. It's Sinon, the girl who wants to kill the real me at all costs."

When I finished explaining my plight, she tightened her arm's grip around my smaller frame. "Kiriko… I'm sorry. Even after all this time, I never realized how much that nightmare got to you."

My body betrayed me, beginning to tremble as tears made their way to my eyes. I did my best to blink them back, ultimately failing after Argo said ne, final thing.

"You don't have to be strong around me."

At those words, I burst into a fit of sobs.

* * *

I don't know when my crying stopped, or when I fell asleep. All I know is that when I came to, my hat was on the nightstand beside me, and Argo was running her hand through my long, raven locks as I rested my head in her lap. When I looked up at her, I found a very uncharacteristic, almost motherly smile adorning her face.

"What's gotten into you, Argo?" I queried quietly, wanting her to stop, and yet not wanting her to at the same time. "You're acting like a mother instead of the Cheshire Cat."

At this, the usual smug Argo returned. "Oh, so you want me to stop? Because from what I can tell, you want me to keep doing this to you."

Without even bothering to ask what she really meant, I gave a growl of annoyance, sitting up and trying my best to hide the treacherous blush that crept across my face. The way she said it could only imply one thing, and I would have none of it.

I grabbed my hat, stuffing my hair into it and standing up. I stretched my arms, getting ready to exit the room when Argo stopped me by grabbing my arm.

"Just thought I'd tell you that the boss raid is today. I'm pretty sure you spaced out during that part of the meeting."

* * *

I walked out of my room minutes later, finding that Sinon was nowhere to be found. In fact, the whole legion house was empty, save for me and Argo.

"They all left about ten minutes ago, I think," Argo informed me, giving me a smile. "Klein told me in a PM."

"I see."

"Do you know where the meeting is going to take place?" she asked me, looking at me with a smirk.

"Not really."

"Your short answers are annoying, you know that?"

At this, I cracked a smile. "Good to hear."

The whiskered information broker and leader of «Thousand Eyes» growled like a cat. "You know that I don't actually have to tell you where everyone is meeting up before the boss meeting, right?"

"True."

With a mighty sigh, she glared at me with the force of a thousand suns. "I'm serious, Kiriko."

"Is that so?"

I felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders, shaking them angrily. "One day, Kiriko. One day."

I broke out into a fit of giggles, flicking Argo on her forehead. "You're really fun to mess with, you know that?"

"And _you_ are annoying as hell when you mess with me," she bit back, flicking me in the same spot. After a few seconds of watching me laugh, she smiled. "But you're still my favorite customer."

Somehow, though I knew the words were meant to make me happy, they only made me feel bad. _Am I really just a customer to her?_ I thought for a moment, almost immediately dismissing the thought. _But still, I know I probably cause her a lot of trouble…_

"Hey, Argo?" I started, my voice suddenly dead serious. It immediately caught her full attention. "I'm sorry… I must cause you a lot of trouble. But even so, you always put up with me, so… thanks for that."

The shocked expression on Argo's whiskered face said everything that her failing lips couldn't. She thought these were the final words I planned on saying to her.

I just smiled brightly, giving her a thumbs-up. "Don't worry. I don't plan to do anything stupid. You can count on me as a source of front lines info for a long time to come."

"You'd better not."

_I don't plan on doing anything to compromise my life anytime soon. If I died, you and Klein would be sad, so I can't let that happen. And besides… _she_ would be disappointed if I just committed suicide._

I grabbed Argo's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. We walked out of the house together, and I didn't let go of her hand until we reached the «Teleport Gate».

"Ready, Argo?"

"Yeah."

With that, we teleported out of the city. Both of us knew that our lives would be on the line in a few short hours, when we challenged the nineteenth «Checkpoint» boss with the rest of the raid group. But we didn't care.

We knew we had each other's backs.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**So, what do you think? I'd say it's not so bad, despite only being like, twelve-hundred-fifty words in length (exactly 1327 with the flashback). Still, I'm not exactly back into full swing for this story, so it might not be my best work. I at least hope it's acceptable, since it took me several months to publish!**

**I'm still trying to decide just how to write out a gun-based boss fight for the next chapter. I've written boss fights for the SAO universe countless times (though I didn't publish them on this account, since they weren't yuri, and the sole purpose of this account is for me to post my yuri FanFics. Don't ask why, please.)**

**Anyway, I ask that any reviews given be constructive. Please don't just say, "update soon," or give an angry response for publishing such a short chapter. Both of those get tiring, trust me.**

**Well, I guess that's it! I'll just provide you with a not-so-generic disclaimer, then get back to working on the next chapters of both this and SAO: Re:Designed.**

**Oh my god, it's so annoying to say that I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series, any of its adaptations, or anything/one I use from them. It's frigging obvious, since my works are even more of a mess than the original material. But, damn you copyright law, I have to abide by your rules.**

**See you next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 7: The Phantasm Jaw Part I

Gun Gale Online: The Swordswoman

Chapter Seven: The Phantasm Jaw Part I

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Okay, I know what you're thinking. "If this chapter is only part one, and it's so short, then why in the hell didn't you just write out the whole thing and post it then?" The answer is simple, my readers.**

**You see, I'm going to participate in NaNoWriMo, and I'll need to focus on that instead of my usual FanFics. Thus, you probably won't see much of anything coming from me in the next month, so I wanted to give you a chapter before that to tide you over.**

**So yeah, wish me luck on that, and I'll see you at the bottom note!**

* * *

_I just smiled brightly, giving her a thumbs-up. "Don't worry. I don't plan to do anything stupid. You can count on me as a source of front lines info for a long time to come."_

_"You'd better not." _

I don't plan on doing anything to compromise my life anytime soon. If I died, you and Klein would be sad, so I can't let that happen. And besides… she would be disappointed if I just committed suicide.

_I grabbed Argo's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. We walked out of the house together, and I didn't let go of her hand until we reached the «Teleport Gate»._

_"Ready, Argo?"_

_"Yeah."_

_With that, we teleported out of the city. Both of us knew that our lives would be on the line in a few short hours, when we challenged the nineteenth «Checkpoint» boss with the rest of the raid group. But we didn't care._

_We knew we had each other's backs._

* * *

The atmosphere in the cave that held the boss door was charged with tension. It really didn't take a genius to figure out why.

Even though this wasn't the twentieth «Checkpoint», the fact that it loomed just around the corner scared many. Not because of the boss raid that would take place, of course. No…

They were afraid of meeting me again. The _real_ me, not the pathetic sham known as "Kazuto". If Kiriko had the ability to wipe out the current clearing group with relative ease in the first «Bullet of Bullets», then what could she, with much more powerful stats and gear, do this time around? That was probably the mindset of most, if not all, of the clearers.

When Argo and I reached the center of the crowd, I looked around, trying to assess what I knew I might be up against in the near future.

As per the usual, Asuna, who stood directly in front of me with her back facing me, wore a whitish gray attire with red trim. Her silver chest plate gleamed in the dim lighting the cave provided. The only thing she wore that had no gray or silver was her miniskirt, which was colored a deep red. In her hands was a powerful iron-colored ray gun with three different barrels, each one able to shoot different kinds of blasts. She only brought it out for boss fights, but I got to see its power plenty of times.

Talking with Asuna was Agil, clad in dark gray jeans and a green, short-sleeved shirt mostly covered by a large metal chest plate meant for deflecting bullets. In both of his hands, he held his usual «Mini Gun», showing it off for all the world to see and fear.

_He's going to be a pain in the ass at the next «BoB»,_ I thought with narrowed eyes. _But as long as I can get close enough to use my «Photon Sword», I should be able to cut through his gun and armor._

Off to the side a bit stood Klein and his men, all wearing a similar outfit of crimson shirts, crimson pants, and iron metal chest plates and leg guards. Klein's uniform was the most ornate, with him being the leader, and yet it still held high durability and defensive capabilities, despite the extra decorations. He held a light silver «Continuous Stream-Type» ray gun, known as the flamethrower of its kind. I was there when it dropped for him as the Last Attack Bonus for the fourteenth «Checkpoint» boss, and had seen him use it on every boss since.

The last notable person in the cave was Sinon. She wore more battle-oriented clothes this time, consisting of a lightweight silver chest plate, a black shirt under it, and an army-green jacket with little pieces of metal in strategic areas. She seemed to be the only girl in the clearing group who didn't wear a skirt of some form, instead choosing shorts of the same color as her jacket. On her back rested that same sniper rifle I saw from before.

_The one that can one-shot players…_

That thought came into my mind at that precise moment, making me shiver slightly at the mere notion of possibly getting hit and dying. Then, all of the sudden, I felt eerily calm, just as I had in the first «Bullet of Bullets».

_I'm not scared… I'll survive, no matter what. I'll fulfill her wish and get out of this death game alive. Nothing will stop me._

It was as if there was another me that had suddenly taken control of my body, making me walk over to Sinon against my will. This other me seemed to have far more composure, talking to her with such ease that it seemed like my exchange with that kid in the first «BoB» never happened. I couldn't hear what they were saying, as if my consciousness had been taken far away from the situation at hand.

It seemed as if I were a spectator to my own actions, unable to interfere with whatever was going on outside of my own head. All I could see was the laughing face of Sinon, like I had just told her something funny.

Despite this rather mind-boggling experience, I didn't panic. I just sat back in my mind, watching everything that my virtual eyes could see like it was all a big movie.

Then, the whole experience came to a halt as I felt a large hand lightly grip my right shoulder. With a start, I turned my head around, eyes widened as my mind finally caught up with what just happened.

_What the hell was that?_ I frantically asked myself, trying to calm my erratically beating virtual heart.

"Did I startle you that much?" I heard the dark-skinned giant in front of me query in a concerned tone. "That's not like you, man. You sure you're gonna be okay to fight today?"

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment to calm myself. "It's nothing," I replied after a few seconds' pause. "I'll be just fine."

"Good," Agil affirmed. "If you're not going to go to the twentieth «Checkpoint» raid, then we'll need you to be in top shape for this one. Now both of you, come on. We're about to talk strategy now that everyone is here."

"Right."

* * *

"So, does everybody understand their roles?"

These words came from Agil, who stood as the current leader of the clearing group, despite not being the leader of his guild. Everyone, including myself, nodded their heads in confirmation.

_As usual, I'm on the front forces. Well, even if it's the most dangerous, I'm still one of the best at close combat, even with guns. I wonder if I'll get the Last Attack Bonus._

"Good! Then I only have one thing left to say!" the dark-skinned giant shouted, turning towards the boss door. "Let's win!"

He opened the door. Everyone walked in cautiously, with the five snipers of the raid group, including Sinon, spreading out along the edge of the giant room as the rest of us continued our trek.

The average boss room was about three-hundred meters in diameter, and this one was no exception. The boss would be waiting for us in the center, but with the dimmed lighting, we couldn't see it yet. However, as soon as it noticed us, the lights would undoubtedly turn on, illuminating the cave in a color fitting of the boss as it moved towards us.

Once I and the other front liners of the raid group made it about seventy-five meters in, the whole room began to change colors, lighting up to a bright red with streaks of black and showing us the appearance of the boss.

"What… the hell?"

These words escaped the person next to me in a shocked whisper. I paid them little heed, almost all of my attention focused on the gigantic monstrosity before me.

The seven-meter-tall beast before us looked somewhat like a dog in body type, but its whole body seemed to be composed of shadows. Its head was more akin to that of a shadowy alligator mouth, with a blood-red tongue on the inside and rows upon rows of razor-sharp fangs surrounding it.

It kept itself up with four large, muscular legs with shadowy claws the size of my entire body. I shivered at the thought of getting ripped to shreds by them before remembering that it wouldn't cut me into pieces; instead, the claws would deal massive damage and leave giant red marks where they made contacts. That thought, accompanied with the incredible pain that would undoubtedly come with it, sent another shiver down my spine.

Four health bars stacked up, filling up one by one until they all held an eerie green color. Above its head, a name flashed for only a few seconds.

«The Phantasm Jaw»

Without any warning, it leapt straight up into the air, twisting so that it would fall to the ground headfirst. However, instead of hitting the ground, it phased straight through it until there was nothing left but a pool of shadows where it would have landed.

In the span of a single second, the shadowy pool moved along the ground until it was directly under me and several other front line players. I reacted instantly, grabbing the player next to me by the arm and jumping out of the way. However…

For the one I saved, three were taken as the beast leapt from the shadows, its jaw clamping shut on the poor players as it flew into the air. When it landed soon after, it shook its giant mouth from side to side, and the sickening sound of shattering glass filled the room.

They were dead. Each of the three players had been killed in a single attack.

"No way…"

The player I saved whispered this in a terrified tone as I let go of his hand. Rage building up from within me, I drew both of my handguns from their holsters at my sides and shot three times with each of my guns, aiming right at its neck.

However, even though I hit my mark spot on, I still heard the sound of a bullet hitting the wall behind it, and its HP didn't drop by a single point. It took less than a second for me to realize what happened.

_The bullets went straight through it! I won't be able to hit it like this, and I didn't even bring a ray gun!_

After my bullets phased through its body, the beast turned to me, completely ignoring the torrent of bullets and lasers that followed my own shots. I could see my own reflection in its giant red eyes. What I saw…

I saw the face of a terrified fourteen-year-old boy, trying his best not to break out into a run. It took me a minute to register that this was _me_, that_ I _was the terrified one staring into the eyes of this monstrosity.

"How…?"

As these words escaped my gaping lips, the shadowy beast began leaping towards me, its monstrous mouth opening up to clamp down on me and kill me. I was by no means a defense- or healing-styled player, so I knew that a single chomp would be all it took to end my life.

"_Please, Kiriko. Survive for me."_

I gritted my teeth as the memory of my best friend saying those words in the first «Bullet of Bullets» surfaced in the front of my mind. Letting loose a growl of anger, I aimed both of my guns at the inside of its opening mouth.

_Bang! Bang!_

The sound of bullets hitting virtual flesh rang throughout the room. Where they made contact with its tongue, two red marks appeared. It immediately stopped its motions in midair, roaring in agony as it reared its head back before falling to the ground with a _thud_.

Its first HP bar went down ever so slightly, as if it had about a fourth the HP of regular bosses.

_But then…_

"Guys!" I shouted, turning everyone's attention to me. "Its weak spot is its mouth! Try to get it to open its mouth and then shoot inside!"

All of the players in the room nodded, raising their guns. The mouth of the beast had a small opening as it lay there, seemingly knocked out temporarily.

A torrent of bullets and lasers rained into the boss's mouth, making its HP drain at a fierce pace. In the span of ten seconds, the first bar had completely disappeared.

_We can do this!_ I shouted in my mind, charging towards it until I was within the distance for an increased chance of critical hits. _We can beat this thing!_

"HAAAAAA!"

* * *

**Author's Note**

**And we're back! What do you guys think of the first part of the boss fight? And again, I'm sorry I couldn't write out the whole thing. I needed to get something out before my readers lose interest, and I won't be releasing anything (probably) in the month of November.**

**I bet you're wondering what happened to Kiriko during the time before the boss fight, when she became a "spectator to her own actions". I won't tell you, but let me say this: this is going to be a recurring thing. It wasn't the first time this has happened, and it certainly won't be the last.**

**Anyway, that's all for now! After November ends, I'll try to be a little quicker with updates to all of my stories than I am right now, so look forward to it! Now then, it's time for one last thing!**

**I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series, any of its adaptations, or anything I use from them!**

**See you in December!**


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